SOTHEBY’S TO SELL THE MINERAL COLLECTION OF JOSEPH A.

FREILICH IN JANUARY
2001

(Beryl Crystals, left: Heliodor, Brazil, est. $200/250,000, right: Aquamarine, Brazil, est. $270/300,000)

-- MINERAL COLLECTION WILL BE SOLD CONCURRENTLY WITH THE SCIENTIFIC LIBRARY OF

JOSEPH A. FREILICH ON JANUARY 11 AND 12, 2001 --

-- MINERALS AND BOOKS WILL BE EXHIBITED IN CHICAGO, LOS ANGELES, SAN FRANCISCO,
LONDON, PARIS, MUNICH, COLOGNE AND NEW YORK --

New York, N.Y. -- On January 11 and 12, 2001 Sotheby’s in New York will become the first international auction
house in more than 25 years to auction a major collection of specimen minerals when it offers for sale the Collection
of Joseph A. Freilich, one of the finest private collections of minerals in the world. While the collection is relatively
small, numbering just over 500 pieces, there is a high concentration of specimens which are among the finest known
examples of their type based on factors such as size of crystal, unusualness of formation and aesthetic appeal.
Excluding two specimens, all of the minerals in the collection exist in their natural state and on average each
specimen is between 20-40 million years old. Estimates range from $1,000 to $300,000 and the entire collection is
expected to bring $4.5/6.5 million. Mr. Freilich’s Scientific Library will be sold on January 11, 2001, in conjunction
with the sale of his mineral collection, and is estimated to bring $6/8 million.

David Redden, Vice Chairman of Sotheby’s said, “This sale is a wonderful tribute to the wide range of one man’s
collecting ambition -- that these superb collections of minerals and books could be created concurrently. These
collections directly relate to each other, grow from the same root, and branch out in fascinating and complimentary
directions.”

(Beryl Emerald on Calcite, Coscuez Mine, Columbia, Est. $20/30,000)

A number of the minerals included in the Freilich Collection are of historical importance and have been widely
published. In particular, two beryl crystals, one an aquamarine (“The Pioneer”), the other a heliodor, are considered
among the finest examples of their type due to their crystal perfection in combination with their color and clarity. Once
owned by renowned scholar Professor Dr. Hermann Bank of Idar-Oberstein, Germany, the heliodor is estimated at
$200/250,000 and the “Pioneer” at $270/300,000. (both pictured on page 1). Also included in the collection are a
number of specimens formerly in the famed Bement Collection at the American Museum of Natural History, which
had originally been assembled in the early 20th century and came back into private hands when traded from the
Museum’s enormous collection. Interestingly, it was Freilich’s viewing of this famous public collection at the age of
eight that inspired his later collecting.
 (Rhodochrosite, on matrix, Sweet Home Mine, Alma, Colorado, est. $25/30,000)

Collecting minerals has become increasingly popular, so much so that many mines which are no longer worked for
ore have been opened to yield mineral specimens. For example, mines in China, Afghanistan and Pakistan have
been opened for this purpose, and the Sweet Home Mine in Alma, Colorado in particular was reopened around
1990 and yielded a number of particularly fine rhodochrosite crystals which are included in the Freilich Collection.
One of the rhodochrosite specimens from the Sweet Home Mine included in the sale is a single, bright-red rhomb on
feldspar matrix which is expected to bring $25/30,000 (pictured above).

(Beryl Aquamarine on Feldspar, Pakistan, est. $35/50,000)

Other rare minerals in the collection which are among the finest known of their type are a crystal of betekhtinite from
Kazakhstan, which is was formed in an usually large one inch by ¼ inch crystal, while the mineral typically appears as
tiny, needle thin crystals (est. $8,500/10,000). A magnificent and well-known example of rare and large (3/4 inch)
crystals of gold is known as “The Eagle” for its distinctive shape and is estimated at $100/160,000. A large 54-ounce
Australian nugget of gold (est. $25/40,000) is referred to as the “Meteor” because of its cratered surface, while an
example of silver wire in the shape of a spring will particularly appeal to “thumbnail” collectors because its spiral
shape fits within the specified one inch cube (est. $8,500/10,000).
 (Pyromorphite Crystal Group, LaFarge, France, est. $4,500/5,500)

Whether or not the mineral specimen exists on matrix or is attached to the section of mother rock it was found in, is
another factor that can determine value. In certain circumstances, a specimen mineral on matrix can be preferred
over the same subject in single crystal off matrix because of the rarity due in part to the difficulties associated with
mining specimens on matrix and the fact that some minerals rarely occur on hard rock matrix. A specimen of beryl
aquamarine from Pakistan is particularly valuable because it is found on crystals of feldspar matrix and carries and
estimate of $35/50,000 (pictured on page 2). Along the same lines, the location from which the specimen is mined
from can also affect the value. For example, a fine azurite specimen of crystals from Morocco (est. $600/700) is not
as valuable as the same subject of the same quality from a mine in Tsumeb, Namibia (est. $3,500/4,500) solely
because of rarity of specimens acquired from that particular location.

(Wulfenite on Quartz, Red Cloud Mine, Arizona, est. $4/5,500)

David P. Wilber, noted mineral expert, is Sotheby’s consultant for the sale of the Freilich Collection. Dave Wilber has
been recognized as a world-class mineral collector, and since 1998 has acted as curator of Mr. Freilich’s Collection.
Speaking of Mr. Wilber, Mr. Freilich referred to him as “one of mineralogy’s most admired and respected
connoisseurs.”
 (Native Gold Nugget, “The Meteor”, Australia, est. $25/40,000)

Assembled by New York businessman Joseph A. Freilich, this collection was born from an original passion for early
printed books relating to science that exhibited the alchemist’s interest in metallurgy and mineralogy. Concurrent with
the sale of Mr. Freilich’s Mineral Collection, Sotheby’s will offer his Scientific Library on January 11, 2001, which
includes major highlights in the history of science and discovery. Among the nearly 600 books in the collection which
chronicle achievements in the history of mineralogy, metallurgy, alchemy, chemistry and astronomy dating from the
15th-20th centuries, is a rare first edition of Aristotle’s Opera printed in 1495-98 by Auldus Manutius in Venice, the
most ambitious venture of Greek printing in the 15th century, which is estimated at $300/400,000; and a 1556 edition
of Georg Agricola’s De re Metallica libri XII, the first systematic treatise on mining and metallurgy, which is expected
to sell for $18/25,000.

Also included is a presentation copy of the first edition of Nicolaus Steno’s De solido intra solidum naturaliter
contendo dissertationis prodromus (1669). Steno's book contains the first correct explanation of fossils and of the
sedimentary origins of rocks. He explained the true origin of fossils found in the earth as being remains of once living
things, and he discriminated between the volcanic, chemical and mechanical modes of the origin of rocks. He was
also the first to clearly realize that the strata of the earth's crust contain the records of a chronological sequence of
events from which the history of the earth can be reconstructed. Estimated at $50/70,000, this text is a first edition of
the fundamental work for the modern sciences of geology, crystallography and paleontology.

(Gautier D’Agoty, Fabien, Histoire naturele ou exposition générale de toutes ses parties, 1781, est. $35/45,000)

Jacob Meydenbach’s Hortus Sanitatis, is another highlight of the Freilich Library. This first edition of perhaps the
most important medical woodcut book printed before 1500 is estimated to sell for $60/80,000. The Hortus sanitatis
is a greatly expanded Latin version of the Gart der Gesundheit compiled by Johann Wonnecke von Kaub, in 1485. In
addition to being 631 chapters longer, the Hortus has significantly expanded examinations of the areas of animals,
birds, fish, stones and minerals than in the in the Gart der Gesundheit.

For More Information, Please Contact:

 Matthew Weigman
Lauren Gioia 606-7176
fax: (212) 606-7381