The Micromount Collection

Along with all of Sir John's minerals, there are approximately 300 micromount specimens. Most of these consist of a small wooden cup (3.5cm diameter) with a wax column in the middle with a specimen of gem gravel on the top. They are very unusual and extremely delicate. You can even see fingerprints in the wax from when they were made all those years ago. Sadly, the documentation alongside these specimens is limited, so we don’t know who made them.

A gentleman called Mr. Collins visited Devonport Museum in 1880 and wrote:

"On a recent visit to Devonport I made a hasty examination of the contents of some of the drawers. The specimens all seem to have been originally labeled in the most careful manner, but the labels, as might be expected, require much renovation; the numerous mounted crystals are mostly fallen from their stands, and the whole collection has a most forlorn appearance, after so many years of neglect."

Unfortunately, as Collins describes, the micromounts are in a bit of a sad state, and only 122 still have their original gems on the top. However, they are still remarkable.

Who made those fingerprints over 200 years ago?

Only a few weeks into the St. Aubyn project we discovered that Count Jacques Louis de Bournon was making little models out of wood whilst working for St. Aubyn, because was interested in crystalline structures. Maybe de Bournon made these little micromounts? Unfortunately, still no one knows…

You can find out more about Sir John St. Aubyn, his herbarium and his mineral collection or return to the natural history collections page for information on the other collections we hold.