Longing for Mineral Shows
Since the coronavirus is still with us (although it is important to note that, as of this writing, 113 million doses of the vaccination have been administered), it may be helpful to take a look at what we’ve lost in our mineral hobby. The big loss, of course, is the mineral shows. Hopefully, the closures are temporary, but over a year’s time, we’ve lost so much.
We’ve lost the joy of going to shows and seeing friends, along with the social pleasures of mixing with kindred spirits in the mineral hobby. But I challenge you to take a much deeper look at what we have lost, much of which we may never retrieve.
Take the joy and learning experience we gain at every show when we look at and often study all the special exhibits. We get a variety of pleasure out of each exhibit. They entertain us, but more importantly, they educate us and give us information about the finer examples of a species in three dimensions. This education helps us in our specimen selections. Seeing the best of such minerals and studying them is an opportunity we might otherwise seldom see except for museums, many of which are still closed or in the process of opening to limited capacity.
The same minerals you see on your computer are not the same as in person. The real kick happens when you see a mineral on display that is not as good as one in your collection. As you study minerals, you surely see specimens you have never seen, thus acquiring knowledge with each discovery. The internet simply doesn’t do that for me.
APPEAL OF CLUB MEMBERS’ EXHIBITS
Maybe much more important to our hobby are those not-so-special exhibits from club members and amateurs who are proud of their minerals. Not to mention the work it takes to create lovely lapidary objects people want to share with other collectors. These are the exceptional exhibits at any show! All of this is lost when shows are canceled because no matter how skillfully minerals and jewelry can be shown on the internet, there is no substitution for seeing the real thing.
That goes for people, too. Think of what we have lost because we could not spend time with other collectors and dealers at any mineral shows.
When at a show, you are in an environment unlike any other. The joy and excitement of knowing you are surrounded by people just like you is quite special. Shows and symposia are ideal places to meet collectors after whom a mineral has been named, experience new opportunities, and discover more about ourselves. For example, at one show, I was invited to write the script for the video “Russian Gem Treasures,” a project that took me to Russia twice. Collectors come from all walks of life, but we are all equal at a show. It was during another show where I met Ed David. Ed lived next door to Malcolm Forbes, owner of several Russian Czar’s Peter Carl Faberge Easter eggs at the time. Ed helped me connect with the Forbes people, and this resulted in the Tucson Show featuring the Czar’s Easter eggs, and Faberge’s granddaughter Tatiana came to lecture. Incredible.
At shows, we all become familiar with many of the dealers and doing business with them. Over time, you develop a trust in them, their business ethics, and mineral judgment upon which you depend. Try that on the internet.
It is inevitable every collector has certain minerals in mind to look for at a show. At every show, they fed their interests! I started out collecting minerals that fluoresce after attending a show. Then I switched to worldwide species until I realized I could not afford every mineral that came out of the ground. Living in Arizona, I switched to collecting just copper and lead species. My point is that every collector at a mineral show has certain minerals that are high on a “to find” list. The beauty of going to a show is the absolute feast, an almost mind-boggling array of minerals to look at and handle. Then there is the surprise of an unexpected find. You can troll the internet, but don’t tell me it’s the same thing.
Going to a show can also spring surprises, a new friend, an old acquaintance, a rare mineral. It happens to me, and I’m certain it happens to you as well. When I was at the California Federation Show in Anaheim in 1972, I was already writing a volunteer column for Rocks and Minerals. As I walked around the show, someone told me a man in a booth wanted to talk to me. I found out the fellow, Jim Miller, was starting a new magazine, Rock & Gem, and he asked if I would write for him. I agreed, and at last count, I’ve written well over 1,500 articles for Rock & Gem and still going, all thanks to my attendance at the 1972 Federation Show.
So far, I have only described the loss of shows and their exhibits. But a show gives you so much more to experience. How about the lectures, the talks by people who know a lot and want to share it with visitors? When I go to a show or symposium, I always check out the speaker list. Through the years, major shows have offered talks by such people as Dr. John Sinkankas, Paul Desautels, Fred Pough, John White,
June Culp Zeitner, and countless other experts. Lectures offer the latest news about minerals, recent discoveries, exceptional mines or regions, among other things. I enjoy lectures and never walk away without having learned a lot.
UNMEASURABLE EDUCATIONAL VALUE
By and large, the educational value of talks at a show is an integral part of our hobby. Along with magazine articles, presentations at shows is how we spread the word, how collectors gain insights and interests. Listening to someone on the internet just isn’t the same. I ought to know because I’ve done it for the Eastern Federation of Mineralogical and Lapidary Societies. When I am in front of an audience at a show or university or symposium, I have to admit that I get charged up, and I hope the audience does the same. When giving a talk to a group, there is an atmosphere I feed off and enjoy! Sitting in front of my computer with the camera on is less exciting. I can only wonder about folks at home staring at their computers listening to me. It just isn’t the same!
While talks at shows are helpful in gaining information, I find it much more important to talk with dealers and collectors while at a show. It is how we exchange ideas, which are important as we grow in knowledge and experience.
True, small groups can communicate through emails and conference calls, but shows are the nucleus of our hobby where growth happens! The Tucson Gem and Mineral Show and, to a lesser degree, smaller shows are what give birth to many new ideas, new adventures, and even new businesses.
HOT SPOT OF INNOVATION
An example of this happened when a group of us were at a formal dinner during the Tucson show. A couple of the fellows got the idea it was about time someone wrote a book about all the great mineral localities in America. They talked with a few of us, and the next day, we all met at the show, where we hatched a plan to create the book about America’s mineral localities. Instead of one person writing about each of the 44 recognized localities, about 75 of us volunteered to
write about localities we knew best. The result was a group of very experienced collectors, teachers, and dealers who produced an amazing compendium of America’s betterknown specimen productive localities, American Mineral Treasures. I was pleased to be able to write one chapter, “Ray, Arizona Copper Mine,” and co-wrote the “Tiger, Arizona” chapter. This was a labor of love by all of us and our only recompense. This book is a direct result of collectors attending a mineral show, and it led to other books like Collecting Arizona. I believe both of these references should be in every collector’s library.
Not only have mineral shows and symposia given birth to books, but organizations have also formed at these shows since they are the gathering place of many folks in a chosen field. At Tucson, a museum curator’s organization formed, as did a collector group called Friends of Mineralogy, which is dedicated to promoting the science of minerals. The regional federations of the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies all depend on shows to bring club representatives together to support, promote, manage and protect the hobby. Such things simply happen best at a mineral show.
While Rock & Gem was the idea of one fellow, Jim Miller, it was given life at mineral shows. Most advanced collectors are familiar with the excellent mineral science magazine Mineralogical Record. It was born one night in Tucson, again the idea of one fellow, John White. A group of us gathered at George and Dick Bideaux’s home to hear a proposal by John, who was the mineral and gem curator of the Smithsonian. His idea was to produce a magazine on the science of mineralogy but devoted to the collector market. John had already discussed his idea with others, including Arthur Montgomery, noted mineralogy professor, mine owner, and dedicated collector. Art pledged the cash needed to start the magazine, and several of us pledged to write. Since that meeting, Mineralogical Record has been a mainstay of the fine mineral hobby for more than 50 years. Check it out! It is really a great mineral reference, and it was born during a mineral show and before we had the internet!
In looking to the future, we have faith the medical experts will gain control over the current virus and pandemic, and we will, once again, enjoy all the shows we missed in 2020. But there will be changes. The biggest change will be on the internet. During the pandemic, collectors turned to it, and dealers joined the internet ranks offering minerals for sale through that avenue. This is good, as collectors have regular access to specimens from a wide and still growing dealer cadre.
The other big change will be evident at shows. Eventually, the traditional shows will be back and there may be many people who will continue to wear masks and practice selfdistancing. But the big change might very well be mineral pricing. Many dealers suffered severe losses during the shutdown and may be eager to stimulate sales through pricing, something they found necessary during the pandemic.
As shows begin to open once again, it should be exciting times for our hobby. I can hardly wait!
Note: If you missed previous major shows and would love a recap, check out “What’s Hot” DVDs produced by Bryan Swoboda of Bluecap Productions at Tucson and Munich, www. bluecapproductions.com/index.html.