Marbles from old collections

Old geological collections commonly include small polished tablets of stone, often from the ruins of Rome and brought back by travellers on the 'Grand Tour'. The early 19^th century collections of geologists Charles Giles Bridle Daubeny and John MacCulloch contributed many specimens to our decorative rock collections. During the 1960s the distinguished crystallographer Dr Mary Porter, who had re-organised and studied the Corsi collection during the first decade of the 20th century, returned to her early interest in marbles. She worked through many of the old decorative rock samples labelling them with name and provenance.