The evening before we left town we had a wonderful dinner with John & Linda from Rocks of Ages at our favorite Tucson restaurant "The Kingfisher." Over dinner we learned that they had come across a treasure trove of very old, very important mineral texts. Admittedly, we are somewhat naive on the subject of old and rare mineral-related books, but the more we heard the more interested we became. We also became convinced that we had to make it a point to check out these books for ourselves before leaving town - as it was likely a once in a lifetime opportunity! Well, we certainly weren't dissappointed. We got to see some of THE rarest mineral books in existence - all in extraordinary quality as well! One such book was this "Erz Stuffen und Berg Arten" ("Ore Specimens and Mineral Species of the Mines") by Casimir Christoph Schmiedel, written in 1753! It was filled with HAND PAINTED color plates of exceptional detail, some of which clearly had metallic flakes in their pigments! Below are a few quick pics I took of some of these amazing plates!

These illustrations were just as amazing as any specimen we saw here at the show. In person these illustrations almost jump off the page, which is amazing considering they are well over 200 years old! It really filled us with a sense of awe to think that these were actual specimens that were painted by skilled artisans centuries ago. Although I couldn't read the text, it was my understanding that many of the specimens were from Germany.

The specimen on the left is a malachite from the Oberharz Region and was the "actual size" of the five and a half inch specimen! The specimen on the right is a stunning dark blue fluorite with arsenopyrite from Saxony! One thing that I wish I could've captured in these digital pics is just how incredibly detailed these color plates were. On these "actual size" specimens they paid attention to the smallest details - right down to the near millimeter scale! Now, this was just ONE such incredible book that John & Linda showed us. We saw several other texts of similar caliber - and it truly was a once in a lifetime opportunity. This "small library" they recently acquired is really world class and a very important collection indeed. If you are looking for any old or rare mineral books I would suggest getting in contact with them asap! You can reach John & Linda Simpson through their website, http://www.rxofages.com. Our visit with John & Linda was a perfect example of just what is so great about the Tucson show. While it is undoubtedly the greatest "Mineral Show" on earth, it is about so much more than that. For nearly a month hobbyists, academics, collectors, dealers, curators, researchers, educators, people of all stripes, cultures, and backgrounds from around the world suddenly become a small community of friends. With such an immense body of collective knowledge and experience, it presents an opportunity to learn like few others. And with such a diverse group of people united in a common interest, a chance to make long-lasting friendships, expand your horizons, and add a greater depth to your enjoyment of mineralogy. If you have never been to the show, I guarantee that it will exceed your expectations in nearly every possible way. On a more specific note, I have been asked by numerous people about any possible effects of the economy on the show. We asked nearly every dealer we talked to about their perspective. It seemed to be that those dealers who came to the show with low expectations were pleasantly surprised to find that things were not as bad as they had expected. There were a few dealers who had a great show but they were certainly in the minority. The majority of dealers that we spoke to reported that business was fair given the current conditions. Still, there were some dealers who had an absolutely miserable show, barely covering their costs or losing money altogether. To us, this distribution of success and failure did not seem all that different from other years. While some dealers have great shows, there are those who do not, and the majority fall somewhere in the middle. It all seems to boil down to who has good minerals at good prices - plain and simple, regardless of of economic conditions. The one thing that was immediately apparent however, was the overall attendance. It seemed to be a little less crowded than in years past. While it certainly made for more enjoyable shopping, I am sure it was disheartening to some of the dealers. However, those dealers that had good or unique material, at good prices, saw that their rooms were as crowded and busy as ever - while those who did not were wondering where everybody was. Overall, Mandy and I had a great time. Every Tucson Show is unique in its own way and this year was no exception. While we were particularly excited about the theme of this year's show, "Mineral Oddities," we couldn't stay for the main show this year because we had other collection acquisitions we needed to attend to back home on the East Coast. However, it gave us peace of mind to know that those good folks at http://www.the-vug.com captured most of it on camera - so we didn't miss out entirely.

Here is a view from the airport. We thought the view of palm trees with snow covered mountains in the background was pretty cool. Those may just be our bags on that truck in the foreground. Those same bags at the top of this year's Tucson Blog, that our cat Fisher was laying in, now contain a portion of our mineral acquisitions from this year's show. All told, we came back with a few hundred specimens and were quite happy with our finds. Some years there are stunning new finds and a wealth of new material, or some big collections being dispersed - and some years there are no dramatic headlines. However, if you keep your eyes open there are always new things to be found...