LAWRENCE H. CONKLIN

摘要

Larry Conklin has been a prominent fixture in the mineral world for over half a century, and those who haven't had the pleasure of meeting Mm over the years have nevertheless heard his name mentioned frequently. Larry is an appreciator not only of quality but of provenance and history in a mineral specimen. Having known many people and spanned many trends and fads in mineral collecting during his five decades as a dealer, he will often have personal information and stories about collectors and dealers now long gone, whom the rest of us think of as lost in the dim past. Larry, because of his many and varied specialties and interests, is himself one of those "interesting people" so rich in memory and intellect that one could easily while away countless hours listening to his stories. Larry seems always to be in a good mood, always positive, always ready to chat, and at 73 just happy to be alive, as we all should be. Lawrence Henry Conklin, Jr. was born in New York City during the nadir of the Great Depression, on December 28,1933. His father, Lawrence Sr., was a descendant of John Conklin, who was born in England in 1598, emigrated to Salem, Massachusetts in 1639, and founded the first glassworks in America. Genealogy being one of Larry's special interests, he has learned that the early Conklins (Concklaines) may have been French Huguenot glassmakers who, having suffered religious persecution in France, emigrated to England with many of their compatriots in the 15th century. Going back even farther, they may in fact have originated in Germany where an extensive glass-making industry had long flourished during the Middle Ages. Perhaps the ancestral fascination with colored, transparent glass and the associated aesthetic are at the root of Larry's inborn love of minerals. It makes a nice story anyway.