Columbite-(Fe)

Unknown Owner

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Dating to the 19th century, this individual Columbite-(Fe) crystal shows how the identification and science of mineralogy has evolved over time. Coming from the superb systematic collection assembled by the brothers Martin and Michael Günther (1951-2007 & 1956-2021) it is accompanied by a very old small handwritten label which mentions Dr. Jordan. This is believed to be the German mineralogist Dr H. Jordan (1808-1887) of Jordanite fame. This label also describes the crystal as "Tantalit" in "Kryolith" (Cryolite) and simply from "Gronland" (Greenland). German textbooks from the 1850s describe analyses of Tantalite from Arksutfjord in Greenland, but Tantalite is no longer listed from Ivittuut (Ivigtut), Arsuk Fjord, only Columbite-(Fe). The crystal might not be the perfect shape, but is a fascinating historic specimen.