Stellerite (rare locality)

Item Description

A rarely seen specimen of Stellerite from one of the various roadcut localities in Northern New Jersey. This piece is labeled as coming a roadcut on the Garden State Parkway (New Jersey Turnpike) at Scotch Plains (Exit 135). Additionally the piece is labeled as Epistilbite, but this is incorrect, as it's actually Stellerite. This mistake somtimes occurs as Stilbite was at one time referred to as "Desmine", and Stellerite was called "Epidesmine", so some people confuse Epidesmine with Epistilbite, when in fact it's actually Stellerite. This piece is an attractive display specimen filled with spherical aggregates of rather lustrous, soft orange colored Stellerite, measuring up to 2.1 cm across, sitting on basalt matrix. Most of the Stellerite groups are in very good shape, but a few small separation marks can be seen where the piece was attached to the pocket wall. A rare one to be sure, and certainly a worthwhile add to any zeolite suite or a collection of minerals from the New Jersey trap rocks.
From the collection of William ("Bill") (1927-2006) and Anne (1928-2021) Cook of Cleveland, Ohio (#6051) whose label states that the piece was part of the Gunnar Bjareby collection (label included), then sold by dealer David Garske, and then to Vaughn Fitzgerald. This husband and wife duo were actively involved in the mineral world for many decades. Bill was a PhD geologist, and Anne was a mathematician, and they both were very serious mineral collectors. Bill served for many years as adjunct curator of mineralogy at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and Anne was inducted into the Micromounters' Hall of Fame on October 12, 2019. Both Bill and Anne, at various times, served as president both of the Mineralogical Society of Cleveland and of the Micromineral Society of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and Anne was inducted into the mi The rare barium lithium beryllium phosphate Wilancookite was named in their honor in 2015.