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Description: | The collections consist of about 30,000 minerals and 50,000 rocks. Minerals are world wide and represent some 100,000 examples of mineral species including major 19th century collections in particular the bequest of Dr Richard Simmons (1782-1846). Other collections are Dr Ingle of Cambridge presented in 1896, the Edmund Roscoe Collection presented by Sir Henry Roscoe (1833-1915) in 1906; George Allen (1832-1907), purchased in 1908; Sir Ford North QC (1830-1913), presented in 1909; and Dr Hugo Muller (1833-1915), presented in 1915. More recent acquisitions include the collections of Mr Morrison Thomas, acquired in 1984, and Mr H.C. Mallard, in 1989, and Mary Morland's mineral collection presented by Drs R and J Eastwood in 1999.
The Mineral Collections also include small collections of gemstones, meteorites, and mineralogical instruments, as well as important collections of decorative rocks. Of particular significance is the Corsi Collection of 1,000 samples, accumulated by Roman lawyer Faustino Corsi and acquired by the University in 1827. It includes many examples of decorative rocks used in ancient times.
The Museum Library has a collection of modern books and journals on topographic and systematic mineralogy, as well as historic texts on mineralogy and crystallography. There is a small archive of material relating to the acquisition and study of the
Petrological Collections form part of the Mineral Collections and comprise around 50,000 specimens from localities worldwide.
Among the more important historical collections in petrology are those of William Buckland, John MacCulloch and Charles Daubeny.
The Museum has acquired many of the collections of Oxford University Department of Earth Sciences, including their Accession Series of rocks and the collections of many of the current and past staff. Of particular note are those of Lawrence Wager from East and West Greenland, the Hebrides and Mount Everest, and the worldwide collection of Keith Cox. | Source: | Cornucopia - Discovering UK Collections | Address: | Parks Road
Oxford Oxfordshire United Kingdom,
OX1 3PW | FAX: | 01865 272 970 | Telephone: | 01865 272 950 | Identifier: | oai:www.cornucopia.org.uk:4379 | Go to resource |
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