Baryte on Fluorite, Wheal Mary Ann Mine, Cornwall
The Levers Collection
REF: 51
A small rare specimen of Baryte on pale greenish Fluorite from Wheal Mary Ann, Menheniot, Cornwall, UK (a rare location for this specimen). There is a small area that is loose which is outlined in red in the second photo.
Approx dimension: 80 x 60 x 25 mm
Weight: 89g
Provenance: The Levers Collection
The Levers Collection is a historically important collection of rare, mostly Cornish, rocks and minerals.
Catherine Levers was born into a large family in 1876 in Lostwithiel in Cornwall, England. Unusual for women at the time, she was interested in rocks and minerals and owned a large collection of mainly Cornish specimens.
Much of the collection originates from mines that closed many years before her lifetime, which makes the collection rather rare. Richard Talling, the famous Lostwithiel mineral dealer would have supplied many of the Cornish specimens from his shop, which was located very near to where Catherine's family lived. The collection was handed down through the family, with more additions acquired along the way. Amanda Hawkins & Guy Funnell were privileged to acquire the collection in 2008, and are now offering more pieces for collectors of rare minerals to purchase.
Mineral expert and collector Mr. Woodrow B. Thompson of the Maine Geological Survey in the USA wrote an in depth article about The Levers Collection for ‘The UK Journal of Mines & Minerals ~ Classic Cornish Collections / Rare British Minerals ~ number 34 ~ 2013’, based on his thorough research of Catherine Levers history and background and the collection of minerals she put together. So for more in depth information about this amazing collection, we recommend that interested parties obtain a copy – it’s a remarkable story!
Please note the collection was purchased from the direct descendants of Catherine Levers, however the minerals were missing their original labels. The minerals and their locations were identified by two experts in Cornish mining and minerals, but some mineral locations can not be ascertained so will be described as 'attributed to'.
We will be listing more individual pieces for sale on Ebay in due course.