An absolutely incredible mineral specimen collection, recently removed from a French Monastery School, that was about to be converted into a hotel. The school, “House of Marist Brothers”, opened in the early 1890s in the town of Varennes-sur-Allier, although it would be impossible to date the collection. In May 1891, a group of six Brothers, from Saint-Genis-Laval, came to live in Varennes. On September 16, 1891 the retreat opened the next day. There are approximately, 200 mineral specimens and each one is marked and mounted on a small stand. We also have a few hundred exquisite pressed botanicals, from the same Monastery, that appear to be from the turn-of-the-century. Measurements were taken from one of the larger stones.
