Mimetite var: Campylite (classic material) (1926)

Item Description

A beautiful and showy, antique specimen of the famous "Campylites" from the Red Gill Mine in England. Campylite is actually a variety of Mimetite, most commonly and historically associated with Roughton Gill, and its distinctive orange color and somewhat spherical barrel-shaped crystal aggregates are some of the most well known of all English minerals. The first thing that you will notice about this specimen is that the color on the surface is a greenish-hue, but there are a few contacted spots where you can see a richer orange color in the centers of the aggregates. The piece features a handful lustrous, semi spherical aggregates of Campylite on oxidized black matrix. The largest Campylite group measures 1.3 cm across. Very little damage, the larger groups are all in fine condition, only the smaller secondary Campylites have a bit of roughness. A beautiful and fine quality miniature specimen of this well-known historic material. The piece comes with several dealer labels, but the most important aspect is that it's from the British Museum with a note that states it was from the collection of Dr. C. O. Trechmann from 1926. Valued $5,000.
From the collection of Jack Halpern No. 2740. Jack was born May 18, 1920 in Brooklyn, New York, but has been a long-time resident of San Francisco. He assembled one of the great mineral collections in the world encompassing over 3,200 specimens with a specific emphasis on color, quality, and style/aesthetics, which is evident in every piece. He admired specimens of all sizes from thumbnails to large cabinets and the vast majority of them rank from fine to world-class in their quality.
Above all else, Jack is considered to be the greatest gentleman in the modern era of mineral collecting. He is beloved by all those who have met him, and he truly is one of the most iconic figures in the mineral world. We recently acquired Jack's collection, and the VAST majority of these pieces will be offered here in the auctions, as we feel that everyone deserves and equal opportunity at acquiring these important, well-documented and fine quality pieces for their collections. We are honored to have the opportunity to offer Jack's treasures to everyone on a regular basis in the auctions.
We encourage you to read our blog post at https://www.irocks.com/the-jack-halpern-collection or his profile on the Mineralogical Record website https://mineralogicalrecord.com/biographies_labels/halpernjack/ for more information