#448 Orthoclase var. Adularia**
$125.00
Fine twin xls on matrix. From Griessertal, Canton Uri, Switzerland. Old Minerals Unlimited label. Scott John Williams was born August 6, 1924, in San Francisco, the son of Cecil and Elsa Warnecke Williams. Scott attended the University of California at Berkeley, and in April of 1948, together with his friend David B. Grigsby, founded "Minerals Unlimited" at 2006 Durant Avenue in Berkeley (13-year-old Si Frazier, later a well-known mineral dealer in his own right, was their first part-time employee). Williams operated the company for six years before selling his interest in it to Ralph Merrill in March of 1954.**
The Hugh Proctor Collection
These pieces are part of a collection I purchased from the estate of Hugh Proctor of San Diego. There are a lot of treasures that I have kept off the sales floor of my store. There are lots of pieces purchased from some very fine Southern California dealers from the 1950's into the 1970's. Many have the old tags some had just strips of paper. One item that has been very helpful was a journal that had numbers that went with the specimens. Feel free to call my store with any questions about this collection. Pat
These seven specimens come with Scott Williams Label
Scott John Williams was born August 6, 1924, in San Francisco, the son of Cecil
and Elsa Warnecke Williams. Scott attended the University of California at
Berkeley, and in April of 1948, together with his friend David B. Grigsby,
founded "Minerals Unlimited" at 2006 Durant Avenue in Berkeley (13-year-old Si
Frazier, later a well-known mineral dealer in his own right, was their first
part-time employee). Williams operated the company for six years before selling
his interest in it to Ralph Merrill in March of 1954; Grigsby was hired by
Ultra-Violet Products, and also sold his share to Merrill.Scott then moved to
Arizona where he eventually received his bachelor's degree in mineralogy and his
master's degree in geography and geology at Arizona State University in 1965.
While there he opened a new mineral business called the "Scott Williams Mineral
Company" (in Phoenix from April, 1954 until December, 1954; in Scottsdale from
1955 to 1963). In early 1964 he and David New announced (in their February 1964
ad in The Mineralogist) the reorganization of the Scott Williams
Mineral Company as "Southwest Scientific" in Scottsdale, with Williams
continuing as "president" and consulting mineralogist.
and Elsa Warnecke Williams. Scott attended the University of California at
Berkeley, and in April of 1948, together with his friend David B. Grigsby,
founded "Minerals Unlimited" at 2006 Durant Avenue in Berkeley (13-year-old Si
Frazier, later a well-known mineral dealer in his own right, was their first
part-time employee). Williams operated the company for six years before selling
his interest in it to Ralph Merrill in March of 1954; Grigsby was hired by
Ultra-Violet Products, and also sold his share to Merrill.Scott then moved to
Arizona where he eventually received his bachelor's degree in mineralogy and his
master's degree in geography and geology at Arizona State University in 1965.
While there he opened a new mineral business called the "Scott Williams Mineral
Company" (in Phoenix from April, 1954 until December, 1954; in Scottsdale from
1955 to 1963). In early 1964 he and David New announced (in their February 1964
ad in The Mineralogist) the reorganization of the Scott Williams
Mineral Company as "Southwest Scientific" in Scottsdale, with Williams
continuing as "president" and consulting mineralogist.
# 437 Chabazite var. Acadialite with Heulandite**
$190.00
4.5 cm x 6 cm. From Wassons Bluff, Cumberland co., Nova Scotia. The Chabazite from Wasson's is quite distinct, being orange and with odd curved zoning between opaque and more gemmy regions. The associated heulandite from Wasson's is typically quite lustrous (even when the chabs are etched) and again is distinct from Five Islands. The little calcite is also the usual Wasson's habit.Good, large chabazites are very difficult to find and collect.*-
These four specimens come with label from Mojave Desert Gem and Mineral Shop
Shaws Mojave Desert Gem and Mineral Shop. Earl W. Shaw was born in Bourbon, Douglas County, Illinois in November 1893, the son of Mary F. and Joseph P. Shaw, a farmer. He married Ida Webb (1886-1963) in 1924. By 1930 he and Ida had moved to Eden, California, where he worked as a woodcutter, while she worked as a stenographer for an attorney.In the late 1930s they moved to
Yermo, California where they opened the Mojave Desert Gem and Mineral Shop on Highway 91, 10 or 11 miles east of Barstow, California (and 1 or 2 miles west of Yermo). The famous color-blind field collector and dealer Ed McDole used to sell them specimens, including very choice Butte specimens. Ed was the only person they would allow to smoke in their shop.Earl and his wife appear on the California Voter Registration rolls from 1940 to 1962. They appear to have put the business and their 2-acre shop property up for sale in January 1942, via an ad in Desert Magazine.
Yermo, California where they opened the Mojave Desert Gem and Mineral Shop on Highway 91, 10 or 11 miles east of Barstow, California (and 1 or 2 miles west of Yermo). The famous color-blind field collector and dealer Ed McDole used to sell them specimens, including very choice Butte specimens. Ed was the only person they would allow to smoke in their shop.Earl and his wife appear on the California Voter Registration rolls from 1940 to 1962. They appear to have put the business and their 2-acre shop property up for sale in January 1942, via an ad in Desert Magazine.
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These seven specimens come with Label from Russel Filer's
.The style of label indicates it came to market
betwen 1949-1957. Russell Filer was born July 25, 1921 in American Falls, Idaho.
His family moved to California when he was six, eventually settling in the town
of Redlands where his father worked as a civil engineer for the Metropolitan
Water District.In junior high school Russell joined an informal science group
involved in mineral collecting; they took field trips to the Mesa Grande
district, the Crestmore quarry, and other localities, and Russell's mineral
collection began to grow. In 1933 he had his first mineral labels printed,
reading "Russell Filer, 328 Myrtle St., Redlands, California."In 1937 Russell's
parents built a motel on old Highway 99 west of Redlands, and because his father
was interested in minerals, too, they constructed a separate building to serve
as a rock shop. They had labels printed reading "J.C. Filer & Son, Rt. 1,
Box 382, Loma Linda, California. Midway between Redlands and Colton, Highway
99-70." Later they changed the address to read "1344 Highway 99, San Bernardino,
Calif."
betwen 1949-1957. Russell Filer was born July 25, 1921 in American Falls, Idaho.
His family moved to California when he was six, eventually settling in the town
of Redlands where his father worked as a civil engineer for the Metropolitan
Water District.In junior high school Russell joined an informal science group
involved in mineral collecting; they took field trips to the Mesa Grande
district, the Crestmore quarry, and other localities, and Russell's mineral
collection began to grow. In 1933 he had his first mineral labels printed,
reading "Russell Filer, 328 Myrtle St., Redlands, California."In 1937 Russell's
parents built a motel on old Highway 99 west of Redlands, and because his father
was interested in minerals, too, they constructed a separate building to serve
as a rock shop. They had labels printed reading "J.C. Filer & Son, Rt. 1,
Box 382, Loma Linda, California. Midway between Redlands and Colton, Highway
99-70." Later they changed the address to read "1344 Highway 99, San Bernardino,
Calif."
Specimens listed in the Journal
The next pieces listed are ones that had minimal labeling but are listed in the journal book that came with the collection. It listed mineral and location, and most had white out and a number put on it that related to the numbered line in the journal.I believe most of these were puchased 60's
# 424 Atacamite**
$90.00
*5 cm x 3 cm. From Raventhorpe, Western Australia. Old Plummers label. Royal Ogden "Roy" Plummer was born in Missouri on December 31,1905, the son of Marjorie Farthing and Harry Lee Plummer, an electrical engineer for Western Union. Beginning in 1946, Roy (and his wife Winnifred Line, born 1911 and still alive at the age of 96, living in El Cajon, California) were the proprietors of Plummer's Minerals, advertising "choice crystallized specimens for advanced collectors." He sold worldwide minerals, and especially San Diego County pegmatite minerals, but also carried lapidary rough.Beginning in 1957 Plumm er sold small, carefully selected, styrofoam-mounted crystals and crystal groups measuring a half-inch square--what we would call small thumbnails today, but he called them "miniatures."Roy would often purchase specimens wholesale from other local dealers such as George Burnam (q.v.) and Russell Filer (q.v.), and also from local collectors such as Bob Winstead. The label would indicate 1952 - 1961 as purchase period.*-
