﻿NO. 7 SMITHSONIAN EXPLORATIONS, I926 57 



THE CANFIELD MINERALOGICAL COLLECTION 



Field-work of Mr. E. V. Shannon, assistant curator, division of 

 physical and chemical geology, U. S. National Museum, was limited 

 to a few trips to nearby Virginia and Maryland, and to nearly a 

 month spent in Dover in northern New Jersey in packing the col- 

 lection of minerals bequeathed to the National Museum by Dr. 

 Frederick A. Canfield, who died during July of this year. This 

 collection was begun ]:)y Mr. Mahlon Dickerson about 1808 and was 







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Fig. 60. — The collection of Franklin l^'urnace minerals, made by Frederick 



Canfield, Sr. 



continued by Frederick Canfield, Sr., who secured many uncommonly 

 fine specimens from old American localities no longer available and 

 especially from Franklin Furnace, New Jersey, prior to 1870. 

 Frederick A. Canfield, Jr., continued his father's collection and found 

 in it his principal occupation and relaxation until his death. It now 

 contains some 9,000 specimens, many of which are unique and all of 

 them of exceptional quality. It was housed for over 70 years in the 

 picturesque mansion at Dover, shown in figure 61, before being 

 finally shipped to the National Museum. In order to insure its 

 steady growth and relative standing, Mr. Canfield accompanied his 



