Calcite (Rare Twin Habit)

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This is among the finest and most unusually twinned calcites from the Greenbank collection, and one of his most famous pieces. It consists of two prismatic, nail-head calcite crystals, twinned at their bases in unusual manner. The specimen is glassy and gemmy, and shockingly colorless. In person, it is more like a phenakite than a calcite. The longer of the two members is 6 cm. From Egremont, this specimen was formerly in the Kelvingrove Museum before being exchanged to Richard Barstow (his label remains). On his death in 1982 it went to the Ralph Sutcliffe collection, which sold in 1991 to Greenbank. This specimen has been shown at a Munich exhibition on twinning in 1999, and has been published in the Lapis Calcite issue in Germany, as well as the ExtraLapis Calcite issue in America. Illustrated in the Greenbank Collection book, page 119, as well. Joe Budd photo