Fluorite

specimen number:
1052740

location:
Irbitskaya, Sverdlovsk, Russia

description:
Interesting antique Russian specimen with colorless gemmy crystals of fluorite to 1.5 cm in size across the top of matrix. The specimen comes with an antique label as shown at the end of the video. In good condition. The original acquisition date for this piece was 1909.

Historically founded in 1631 as Irbitskaya Sloboda (or Irbeyevskaya Sloboda), it is located on the right bank of the Nitsa River in the Sverdlovsk Oblast region of Russia. In nineteenth-century European mineralogical records and trade labels, the adjectival form "Irbitskaya" was frequently used to describe the general district or the famous Irbit Fair, which served as a massive commercial trading hub for Siberian natural resources, furs, and regional mineral specimens gathered from the surrounding Ural Mountains. It is possible this piece was originally acquired at one of these fairs, and the locality thus provided.

Dr. Ludwig Eger (active c. 1870-1915) was a highly respected Austrian mineral dealer based in Vienna who played a significant role in the distribution of Central European and Alpine mineral specimens during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Operating under the firm name "Dr. L. Eger," his business was situated in the heart of Vienna, a primary hub for scientific exchange during the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Eger was noted for his professional, academic approach to the mineral trade, often supplying high-quality, systematic collections to universities and major museums throughout Europe and North America. His labels are easily recognized by their classic 19th-century typography, typically featuring "Dr. L. Eger, Wien" (the German name for Vienna) and providing detailed locality and species data in a formal, structured format. In addition to minerals, Eger dealt in paleontological and zoological specimens, as was common for the natural history establishments of the time.

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