Copyright  - M.Bandli - Historic Meteorites

1949 Canyon Diablo Bookend by H.H. Nininger

Collection No. B262.3 -  A 5.652 kilogram Canyon Diablo with base. According to Nininger "The specimen was found on state land about two miles northeast of the crater in 1947." Specimen is Nininger #34.790. Prior to Nininger fabricating it into a bookend, its original weight was 6.115 kilograms.

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In September of 1949, a Stanford University graduate named Gale R. Blosser (1913-2009) commissioned Harvey H. Nininger (1887-1986) to create a bookend out of a Canyon Diablo meteorite. 63 years later, we acquired the bookend from the Blosser Estate, along with a chain of letters from Nininger that span three years. Nininger's letters to Blosser detail the creation of the bookend as well as the difficulty of producing such a piece. They also present Blosser with what could be described as a brief lesson in meteoric iron. Below we present the bookend along with Nininger's chain of letters in their entirety.

Detail showing the "Two embossed knobs on top."

Today, some 63 years later, Nininger's bookend continues to serve its original intended purpose in our library of meteoritics. It's no coincidence that it is resting against  some books written by the man himself.

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