THIS OBJECT IS PART OF THE PROJECT 'A HISTORY OF CORNWALL IN 100 OBJECTS'.
ROYAL CORNWALL MUSEUM. Cornwall's mining and mineral wealth triggered the development of many fine mineral collections. Perhaps the most famous is that which belonged to Philip Rashleigh of Menabilly near Fowey. As a wealthy local Gentleman in the right place at the right time with the right connections and extensive mineral rights, he started to collect minerals in the 1760s and continued until his death in 1811. This collecting activity coincided with the mining of particularly rich copper lodes in Gwennap so the Rashleigh collection is very rich in specimens from this area. His near complete, beautifully documented collection still resides in the county where it was put together. It is housed at the Royal Cornwall Museum along with his manuscript catalogues and copies of his illustrated published volumes etc.
Photo: 1903.1.641 (chalcophyllite from Wheal Gorland, Rashleigh Collection) Copyright Royal Institution of Cornwall; Photography David Green