[meteorite-list] about meteorite casts

[Zelimir Gabelica]

Hi Graham,

If you mean "original meteorites" that were 
sources of casts in general (not Middlesborough 
in particular), you were very close to a famous one last Summer:
Ensisheim meteorite, 53.832 kg, original displayed in the Ensi Regency palace.

Only 2 identical (plaster) casts have been 
manufactured from that original in the late 
1940's (or 1950's ?) by a local artist.
One belongs to the Guardians and is sometimes 
lend for display instead of the original that is, 
as you might guess, tricky and risky to carry here and there.

I am the very lucky owner of the second cast.
It was officially donated to me by the Guardians 
after we had organized the first 2000 show.
I continue to believe this was an outstanding 
honor that I never deserved, whatever my 
contribution to initiate the show (actually that 
work was, and still is, far more a pleasure and a challenge than a task).

This being, if ever you need my cast for any kind 
of display (even in the UK), I am always ready to 
lend it occasionally. Because I consider that 
this almost unique cast can be to some extent an 
elegant way to dispatch the fame of that unique 
meteorite, and perhaps the knowledge of meteorites in general.
I may suspect the artist realized it for that kind of purpose.

BTW, please note all:
The real and accurately measured weight of the 
original meteorite "fragment" sited in Ensisheim 
(by all means the main mass) is well 53.831, as officially re-weighed in 2002.
The other often mentioned figures ("about 55 kg" or alike) are not correct.

My best,

Zelimir

At 23:44 25/01/2010, ensoramanda at ntlworld.com wrote:
>Hi Dan,
>
>I have chased up the original sources of the 
>casts and they are no longer available...unless 
>of course someone on the list knows 
>different...I have been after one for years.
>
>Graham
>
>---- "Daniel H. Fronefield" <dfronfld at hiwaay.net> wrote:
> >
> > So, does anyone still carry these Middlesborough meteorite casts for
> > sale?  Is the 3D scan made by ESA/NASA available to the general
> > public? If so, a reasonable replica could be produced by various
> > methods.  Just thinking ... I'd love to have replica for my display too.
> >
> > Dan
> >

Prof. Zelimir Gabelica
Université de Haute Alsace
ENSCMu, Lab. GSEC,
3, Rue A. Werner,
F-68093 Mulhouse Cedex, France
Tel: +33 (0)3 89 33 68 94
Fax: +33 (0)3 89 33 68 15