INTRODUCTORY NOTES:
NOTE: These items belong to and are treasured by John, and are NOT for sale by me or by him.
PHOTOGRAPHY: All photos by John Schneider using a Nikon D-1 Professional digital camera with a 105mm micro Nikon lens and incandescent lighting, unless otherwise indicated. These are high-resolution and may take some time to load. Click on any image to see a larger picture.
John had a childhood interest in minerals but it was not until his retirement as an engineer in 1993 that he could devote more time and energy to this hobby, and then later on focus his attention on Tsumeb. He seriously began to collect minerals in 1991 following a visit to a rock shop in Banff, Canada. John went through several stages of collecting, as do most people when they enter the hobby and start to invest both time and money in a true collection, starting like most folks do as a general "worldwide" collector. As his collection grew, he realized that it was simply impossible for him to obtain the quality he wanted in every specimen and every species and still be able to a)afford the collection and b)fit it into his home. He tended to specialize in "miniature-sized" specimens (1.3-2 inches, in general). In 1997, John saw the Tsumeb collection of Marshall and Charlotte Sussman, which is displayed in large part elsewhere on this website (click here). You can see why it impressed! John already had a number of specimens from Tsumeb and decided to pursue this focus with gusto , in terms of future additions to his collection. Though he also still collects South African Kalahari minerals and minerals of Dalnegorsk, John sold numerous other previous suites, including his pyromorphite collection (click here) , so that he could add to his growing Tsumeb suite. He had help in particular from the Sussmans, as well as from a number of dealers including myself, Dan Weinrich, and Isaias Casanova. All of his hundreds of specimens, most of which are shown here, are displayed dramatically in large glass cabinets, mounted on hand-carved wooden bases he makes via his other hobby of carpentry. Lastly, he has lavishly photographed his collection himself, thus merging his hobbies into one display-quality , mineral collector's, Tsumeb dream exhibit. John has recently started to exhibit parts of the collection: he won the prestigious "Best of Show" award in the advanced category of Tucson mineral competition cases, as well as the coveted Lidstrom Trophy given for the relative "best of species" specimen in the competitive exhibits during the show (for the alamosite specimen shown here).
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