LATE 19TH CENTURY

These fascinating structures mostly originate from the Northern Pennines in England where, in the 19th century, there were a number of important lead mines. Structures such as these, as well as cased examples (see lot 322) were made by local lead miners who often found fragmentary mineral specimens during the course of their mining. The hobby of creating these elaborate displays became highly competitive with local miners competing in annual town hall shows. A collection of similar examples are exhibited at the Killhope Lead Mining Museum, Upper Weardale.