Pyromorphite

Unknown Owner

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A classic old specimen from the ancient lead mines in the Caldbeck Fells area, where mimetite is more common and large specimens of pyromorphite such as this are both old and rare. Said to have been collected in the early 1800s, this locality is literally one of the major sources of lead ore for the industrial revolution in Britain, so specimens like this were a source of ore to be thrown into the ore carts at the time - with precious few saved for posterity by managers and mine owners, generally. I do not recognize the owner of the piece from the old labels here, offhand (although the red-trimmed label is one I have seen before in other old collections!), but notice how the elder of the labels simply describes this as "phosphate of lead." This was typical naming for pyromorphite in the mid 1800s, and coordinates well with the time these were thought to have been found and preserved in a few collections and museums. The specimen features sharp, robust crystals and displays set up on its own.