Wendy & Frank Melanson Collection
Frank and Wendy Melanson put together a world-class thumbnail collection over the years, and one strength of the collection is the depth of certain Canadian localities. Although by no means comprehensive, the Mont St. Hilaire suite is particularly strong with fine examples of a wide array of species and associations. Mont St. Hilaire is one of the world’s greatest mineral localities with over 400 species represented, and it is the type locality for more than 60 of them.
The label states that this large sodalite dodecahedron is coated with analcime, but after looking under magnification I’m more inclined to believe that the coating is tiny crystals of albite.