Pyromorphite

$350.00

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This large miniature Pyromorphite from the Caldbeck Fells in Cumbria is very old and shows how its identification has changed with time. Accompanying it are two old handwritten German labels - both describing it as Mimetite - and an old handwritten English label affixed to it, recording "Arsenite of Lead" (also meaning Mimetite). The labels are not specific regarding the locality, other than "Cumberland", but there is no doubting its original source as the Caldbeck Fells, and most likely Roughton Gill. The earliest German label uses the name "Arsenikbleispath" and is thought to date to the 1850s or 1860s, the other label refers to the "Manos" collection. The "Mimetite" is clearly Pyromorphite (lead chlorophosphate, rather than lead chloroarsenate) and forms a rich coverage of smaller yellow-green crystals coating massive milky vein Quartz with associated Cerussite in cavities.