Opal (old - historic locale with Foote label)

Item Description

A HISTORIC, OLD-TIME specimen of massive, solid, gray to off-white opal with a couple of blebs of darker opal from the famous opal fields of Nye County, Nevada. This old-timer is from the "Fluorine District", according to the small Foote label glued to the back of the piece. A.E. Foote was a world-famous mineral dealer, who died in 1895. This piece also comes with a Warner & Grieger label, prominent California dealers and collectors prior to World War II. This piece was in the John Grieger Collection. Not pretty to look at, but certainly a highly representative and seldom available old-timer of the species and famous locale. I suspect, that not much precious opal had been discovered in the United States or Nevada, prior to the early 1900s, so this was a significant opal specimen, at that time.