Too many years ago to remember, I stumbled on some Allende individuals at the Tucson Show. Hardly a solid find given the quantity and distribution of Allende meteorite samples. In fact, I recall hesitating about purchasing the individuals, but my weakness for numbered specimens with matching cards carried me through. In the end I purchased two of the kits.
Each kit contained a weighted individual of Allende complete with intricately painted specimen number, a matching specimen card from the American Meteorite Laboratory, all in a classic black cardboard and glass display box. When I discovered them in my safe over a decade later, I have found a new appreciation for the specimens.
According to The Mineralogical Record’s Biographical Archive:
The American Meteorite Laboratory in Denver, Colorado was founded in Sedona Arizona as the American Meteorite Museum by pioneering meteoriticist Harvey H. Nininger (1887-1986) in 1937, and re-established (as the “Laboratory”) by Glenn I. Huss (1921-1991) and Margaret Nininger Huss (daughter of Harvey Nininger) in 1960. Their son Gary is a third-generation meteoriticist, now at Arizona State University. They published a book on the meteorites in their personal collection in 1976 and 1986, and reprinted a number of the classic meteorite books by Harvey Nininger. The company still operates out of Westminster, Colorado.
Part of the joy of collecting meteorites is preserving history, as well as playing a role in that collection history in the future. By acquiring and preserving specimens with historic or scientific importance, you are doing you part to carry this fascinating subject to generations yet to come. Imagine if H. H. Nininger, or Mozart for that matter tossed their work in the trash can when they grew tired of it? Instead, we now pick up where previous generations left off. And with that progression comes the responsibility to preserve the quality of the past so you can proudly hand it off to the future. Anything less is, well, unfortunate. Do do you part. Collect with vision and purpose!
Until next time….
