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For 11 years, from 1997 to 2008, the Mineral Museum of the University of Arizona in Tucson was the custodian of the display portion of the Miguel Romero collection. During that time most of the pieces were on public display in special exhibit cases, some of which were dedicated solely to the Romero specimens. Curator Shirley Wetmore and her assistant, Sven Bailey, are to be complimented for their good stewardship in caring for this important collection and making it accessible to visiting collectors. Although the Romero collection is now gone, the Museum recently acquired by bequest the $7 million collection of Hubert de Monmonier (see Wilson and Origlieri, Mineralogical Record, vol. 39, no. 5, 2008), which is now featured in a special display.
The University of Arizona Mineral Museum now houses one of the finest mineral collections in any university. It began with an act of the Arizona State Legislature establishing a School of Mines in Tucson, Arizona Territory, in 1885; the main building opened for classes in 1891, and Arizona became a state 21 years...