Collecting Cards from the British Museum (Natural History)

Printed by Waterlow & Sons Ltd.

With Pala Presents, we offer selections from the library of Pala International’s Bill Larson, who shares some of the wealth of information in the realm of gems and gemology. 

Below, we feature forty mineral and gemstone postcards published by the British Museum (Natural History). According to a story by postcard-collector John Taylor in the Jan/Feb 2009 edition of Rocks & Minerals, these cards were printed in about the 1920s by Waterlow & Sons. The firm was an engraver of currency, postage stamps, and stock and bond certificates. James Waterlow's son Sydney (1822–1906) eventually became Sheriff of the City of London, during which time he was knighted, and later became that city's Lord Mayor.

As Taylor tells in his article, these collecting cards are arranged as follows.

D 16–35: precious stones
D 36–45: ornamental stones
D 46–54: crystals
D 55: crystals (twins)