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29th Oct 2019 04:36 UTCKevin Conroy Manager

I think that I've seen the topaz on the right before. Does anyone know who owned it before/after Wayne State?

29th Oct 2019 11:41 UTCRobert Nowakowski

WSU still owns the topaz on right and maybe the one on left also. I can check tomorrow.

29th Oct 2019 14:14 UTCKevin Conroy Manager

Thanks Robert! I wonder if they may have had it on display at one of the Cincinnati shows. I've never been to Wayne State (although it's on my "to do" list) to see their collection, but it's obvious that they have some extremely good specimens!

29th Oct 2019 15:24 UTCLarry Maltby Expert

Hi Kevin and Bob,I am happy that you guys are getting into this. Wayne State has a marvelous collection of old minerals especially because of A. N. Goddard’s records in his card file. I am just a few days from publishing the article on the collection. Prior to Dave Lowrie becoming curator of the collection I think that many labels were lost. I know that Dave would never lose a label. I did include specimens with missing locations in hopes that someone would be able to help. Perhaps we can use this thread to improve the provenance of the specimens. I will be happy to revise the article as required.

29th Oct 2019 18:23 UTCKevin Conroy Manager

I'm not sure if we should discuss locations here, or start a discussion from the individual photo page. I'll start with this one and maybe wait until I hear which would be better. Anyway, this looks a lot like some of the celestines that I've seen from White Rock Quarry, Clay Center, Ohio. The stubby calcites are what really make me think that this locale is the one. Compare to the specimen below:

Celestine, etc.

Clay Center, Allen Township, Ottawa County, Ohio, USA

29th Oct 2019 20:14 UTCJamison K. Brizendine 🌟 Expert

I can't vouch for the topaz, but this specific habit of celestine has also been observed at a few other Ohio quarries, including the Genoa Quarry and the quarries at Woodville, south of Clay Center. The Genoa Quarry is only four miles south of the quarry at Clay Center, but Clay Center is the most likely candidate.

I don't know if any of the Michigan quarries produced anything similar...

29th Oct 2019 20:21 UTCRobert Nowakowski

BTW. WSU has a museum now. Viweing by appointment.

30th Oct 2019 09:24 UTCLarry Maltby Expert

Kevin, that water clear, razor sharp, Celestine cluster is one of the best that I have ever seen from the quarries adjacent to the Michigan/Ohio border. I would guess that it is from Maybee, Monroe Co., Michigan, USA. I have a lot of material from Maybee that I have yet to post.

30th Oct 2019 11:57 UTCRobert Nowakowski

Kevin

The celestine cluster is likely from

Ottawa Silica Company Quarry (Rockwood Quarry), Rockwood,Wayne Co., Michigan, USA

These clusters were found in the 1970s.

Bob

30th Oct 2019 13:34 UTCKevin Conroy Manager

The quality of this celestine is amazing! I know that the specimens from the quarries in this area can look similar so I'll definitely defer to the local experts. Since some of the quarries are fairly close together it's not surprising that there isn't much difference between them.

30th Oct 2019 14:24 UTCLarry Maltby Expert

Kevin, it has been 45 years since I had contact with this collection. I believe that Bob Nowakowski has more recently worked with Dave Lowrie and would be the most likely person to provide up-dated information on the museum and the specimens.

Bob, if you see or talk to Dave please let him know that the article has been published. I think that he would like to see it. The restored, digitized photos are much better than the old 45 year old slides. There are a few specimens that are missing. I could not bring them up to acceptable levels.

30th Oct 2019 14:52 UTCPaul Brandes 🌟 Manager

The real bugaboo here is that all of the localities mentioned above have produced similar appearing specimens over the years, what gets tricky is how common or rare specific forms are at each site. As mentioned above, Robert would be a good source of info. I know Chris Stefano dabbled in that area as well so hopefully he'll see this and chime in.

30th Oct 2019 15:19 UTCKevin Conroy Manager

You're right on Paul! My main exposure to specimens from this area has been at the Lawrence County Rock Club's annual swap in Bedford, Bloomington, then back to Bedford, Indiana. Through the years collectors would bring a LOT of flats of specimens to the swap, and it was interesting to see what was found during the current collecting season. It was always pretty easy to get pristine specimens of the thicker blue celestine crystals, but to get an undamaged aesthetic specimen of the thin, colorless celestine crystals was (and still is) a real challenge.

30th Oct 2019 18:18 UTCRobert Nowakowski

Here is a photo of Dave Lowrie, curator of WSU Collection holding the topaz. This is dated October 29, 2019.

30th Oct 2019 18:48 UTCPaul Brandes 🌟 Manager

That's certainly a handful!! ;-)

30th Oct 2019 19:19 UTCKevin Conroy Manager

Wow, very nice! The internal features of the crystal are more visible in this photo, and now I'm a little more sure that I've seen this somewhere before (but I still don't remember where).

30th Oct 2019 20:14 UTCLarry Maltby Expert

Great photo Bob!

Kevin, I read somewhere that Dave set up displays of Wayne State minerals at over 200 Gem and Mineral Shows while he was curator. That would probably include Tucson, Detroit, Cincinnati and Denver among others.

30th Oct 2019 20:40 UTCKevin Conroy Manager

Thanks Larry! I must have seen it at one of the shows. Except for the Detroit show (which I have never been to) I go to all of them, some more often than others. This is just one of those "earworm" things that tugs at my brain, in a good way!

30th Oct 2019 20:50 UTCRobert Nowakowski

Here is the new WSU museum

30th Oct 2019 21:18 UTCPaul Brandes 🌟 Manager

Neat little museum.

I'll have to visit (make an appointment) next time I'm in Detroit visiting family...

2nd Nov 2019 14:01 UTCLarry Maltby Expert

Here is some added provenance for a Wayne State specimen. The limonite shown above has this Goddard label:

Limonite (9.0 x 6.3 x 5.0 cm) Island of Elba, from old Burrage Collection, gift to Cranbrook Institute of Science from Shortmann’s, 1949. This is a small part of the large specimen at Cranbrook, A. N. Goddard Collection.

2nd Nov 2019 14:04 UTCLarry Maltby Expert

Here is a display at the 1976 Greater Detroit Gem and Mineral Show that shows the large limonite at Cranbrook.

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