拍品專文
Made by Thomas Sopwith (1803-1879), these geological models of coal seams and their related strata were sold by the mineralogist to Her Majesty Queen Victoria, James Tennant (1808-1881). Their contemporary Charles Lyell held them in such high regard as teaching models for students of geology that he illustrated them in his 1841 Elements of Geology. Comprised of 579 seperate pieces of wood, these intricate wooden models fully justified their retail price of for £2 10 0 for a set of six and £5 for twelve. The current set of twelve come with two additional, smaller models, very rarely seen.