We have been asked by Dr Mike Howe, Chief Curator and Head of the National Geological Repository for help in locating rocks, minerals and fossils owned by Florence Nightingale. This is Mike’s message and request for help:

I have recently heard from Jane Middleton-Smith, Archive manager for John Smedley Ltd, Lea Mills, Lea Bridge, Matlock, Derbyshire. She is trying to locate a collection of rocks, minerals and fossils donated by Florence Nightingale to Lea School (Derbyshire) in 1881. (The Nightingale Family was a prominent family in the local area; 2020 is the bicentenary of Florence’s birth.)

The fine quality specimens were purchased from a ‘Mr Butler’ (possibly Francis H Butler?) and sent to Mr Burton, the Schoolmaster. Apparently, Burton had a case made and gave lectures on geology to the children and to the local Institute.

The collection has disappeared – almost certainly prior to the 1960s. The present staff of the school have never heard of it. Jane has contacted all of the obvious places: Buxton and Derby Museums and the Derbyshire Record Office and drawn a blank. Can anyone help?

If you can help Mike, please contact him by email at: mhowe@bgs.ac.uk.

Two of our members, Chris Finch and Alistair Napier, have been promoting the Society and celebrating minerals from the Mendips.

This was part of the 10th anniversary of the Somerset Earth Science Centre. Chris and Alistair put on a display of Mendip minerals and encouraged younger visitors to take interest through education and free samples of locally-collected specimens.

You can find out more and see photographs of the minerals on display in a pdf file here.

Given our website’s visibility within the wider mineral collecting community, The Russell Society has been asked to publicise the attached urgent notice from the Glenbuchat Estate in Scotland.

While there is no suggestion that any Russell Society members have been involved in irresponsible activities at Glenbuchat, it is a reminder that:

– Permission to collect minerals is a privilege, not an entitlement
– Permission should be obtained in advance
– All rules and restrictions must be followed.

Please share this important update with other collectors as appropriate. The update can be downloaded as a PDF file here.

The North Pennines Mineral Expo is happening again in 2018. This year it’s on July 14th and 15th at St. John’s Chapel in County Durham.

Russell Society members are taking part in the show; with a display of minerals from Northern England. Also, we’ll have our Society stall at the show and look forward to seeing you there!

The Award has been established in appreciation of Ron Cleevely, former Senior Scientific Officer in the Department of Palaeontology at the Natural History Museum, London, as a result of a generous donation from his widow Ros.

The Award will be made following nominations and voting by members attending the Annual Society Meeting, held each year in April. The President will have the casting vote, if this is required. In considering nominations for the award for the Best Journal Article published in the previous 12 months in the Russell Society Journal, members might wish to consider:
– Novelty value of the article
– Significance of the contribution to British mineralogy
– Quality of the illustrations
– Bibliographic rigour to ensure a thorough literature search has been undertaken.

Although primarily an eminent palaeontologist, Ron’s fame in palaeontological circles lay more in his exceptional knowledge of 18th and 19th century collectors, their specimens and associated natural history works. He had undertaken extensive research on the Sowerby family in particular, and recently published a fascinating account of the development of early mineralogy in southwest England: “Collecting the New, Rare and Curious – Letters selected from the Correspondence of the Cornish Mineralogists Philip Rashleigh, John Hawkins & William Gregor”.

Ron was an invited speaker at the Bob Symes memorial meeting at the Geological Society in December 2016, and gave a thought-provoking address about the preservation of historical data, with particular reference to the changing nature of records, the ephemeral nature of electronic media and its potential loss in the future. He was a kind and thoughtful person, always willing to impart some of his immense knowledge about collections and collectors, and he would surely have been supportive of any initiative which encouraged enthusiasts to document and record their researches.

 

Chris Finch of the Southern Branch recently received an offer from Monica Price at Oxford University Museum of Natural History of some surplus card trays. Monica describes them as:

” We have several boxes of trays that came with donated specimens, they are in good condition but are not conservation standard. There are three styles, brown thick trays, white covered ones, and flatpack ones in a range of sizes.”

Members interested in receiving any of the boxes should contact Chris directly.

The Russell Society had a presence at the recent Yorkshire Mineral and Fossil Fair in Leyburn to promte our activities and encourage new members to join.

Our General Secretary Steve Warren organised the Society’s table, putting on a display of minerals from Leadhills and Wanlockhead (see a selection below). This created a good talking point and visitors were keen to see the minerals from these areas and hear about the Society. Perhaps other members would like to put on a display of British Isles specimens at forthcoming shows?

The Lucky Dip, a box with specimens hidden in aggregate so youngsters had to dig for them, was also very popular. They loved rooting around and seemed really pleased with what they got. Any spare specimens members have, suitable for the lucky dip, are always welcome. Please include a label, mentioning The Russell Society, the site and the species where possible.

For your diary, next year’s fair will be on 18th and 19th May, with further information from Don Edwards 01433-620304 or don.edwards@talktalk.net.

Members will be familiar with the support and hard work Roy Starkey has contributed to the transformation of The Lapworth Museum at Edgbaston, Birmingham.

Roy would also like to share this great news about the museum and seek your support following the museum’s shortlisting for Art Fund Museum of the Year 2017, along with Tate Modern, The Hepworth Wakefield, Sir John Soane’s Museum, and The National Heritage Centre for Horseracing & Sporting Art.

Representatives from the Museum attended the event at the British Museum last night, when the shortlist was announced live on the BBC Radio4 Front Row programme. There was immediate press coverage and lots of mentions of David vs Goliath particularly in connection with Lapworth – Tate Modern. Several of the broadsheets and the BBC already have write-ups of the shortlist. The Telegraph and the FT and particularly The Guardian and BBC all have good coverage. There will be more coverage over the weekend, including on BBC Breakfast this morning and then a double-page feature on the shortlist in The Guardian on Saturday. In addition to the press release and social media activity, the clock tower was lit up with the Lapworth and Art Fund logos between 9pm and 10pm last night.

You can see a short video from YouTube featuring the finalists here.

You can also help to promote the museum on social media in the run-up to the final decision through the Art Fund website here. If you do so, please tag both Art Fund (@artfund) and Lapworth Museum (@LapworthMuseum) and use the hashtags #museumoftheyear and #lapworthrocks.

The Art Fund will be offering a weekly prize of a National Art Pass and a museum goody bag for their favourite post (across all five museums). The Lapworth will also award a prize to a favourite post each week. Even if you are not personally active on social media, please spread the word to your friends and contacts / Societies, and ask them to get involved.

Thanks for your support – fingers crossed for a good result!

The Lapworth Museum website can be found though this link here.

Society member David Briggs wishes to let other members know that he is selling his collection at auction at Tennants of Leyburn on Friday 26th/Saturday 27th May 2017 – to coincide with the Leyburn Mineral and Fossil Fair that weekend.

The collection comprises mainly UK minerals with an emphasis on the North of England including Yorkshire and Weardale fluorites. There are also specimens from noted Cumbrian sites including Hodbarrow when it was working, and from Dulcote and Yate in the southwest, collected when they were working quarries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Details of the Leyburn Fair can be found here.

 

A Commemorative Meeting to celebrate the life and work of Robert Symes is being held on Thursday 8 December in London.

More details about the event and a booking form are found by downloading this pdf file here.

This one-day meeting has been convened under the auspices of Geological Society and History of Geology Group (HOGG) in association with the Geologists’ Association, The Ussher Society, The Russell Society and The Harrow and Hillingdon Geological Society.