A gem from the 1893 World’s Fair is back on display in New York

A massive block of vibrant blue azurite and green malachite that was first exhibited at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago is back on display in the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York. Among the approximately 5,000 pieces on display in their new Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals, which reopened on February 17, 2021, is a popular artifact from the Fair that has come to be known as the “Singing Stone.”

The five-foot-tall, four-ton block of azurite, malachite, and copper ore was first displayed in the Arizona section of the Mines and Mining Building at the Columbian Exposition. The Copper Queen Consolidated Mining Company extracted the block from their Czar Mine in 1891 and immediate formed plans to show it in Chicago. The Chicago Daily Tribune reported on March 13, 1891 that:

“The Copper Queen Company will exhibit at the World’s Fair a mammoth specimen of ore from its mines. Work of chiseling the piece out has been going on for some time. It is estimated that when ready for shipment it will weigh five tons and be in the shape of a brick.”

An article on “Mining at the Columbian Exposition” in the June 10, 1893, issue of The Engineering and Mining Journal reported on the Arizona display, noting that “the large trophy in the center is a square block of azurite from one of the Arizona mines, which is supported by a base of malachite, making a beautiful contrast of color.”

In their review of the mining display at the Fair, Geologists Karen and Mark Vendl note that “although still a territory in 1893, Arizona’s exhibit in the Mining Building was considered one of the most attractive of the state and territorial exhibits.” [Vendl, Karen; Vendl, Mark “The Mines and Mining Building of the World’s Columbian Exposition” Mining History Journal 2001, 30–41.]

A vintage photo of two miners posing with the treasure from Bisbee can be viewed here.

After the close of the Columbian Exposition, the specimen was donated to the American Museum of Natural History, where it reportedly earned the nickname “Singing Stone” because of an unusual sound made due to the museum’s air handling system. Vendl notes that only part of the specimen from the 1893 Exposition is presently on display in the AMNH.

An image of the current display, including a virtual reality perspective, can be viewed in Google Arts & Culture.

UPDATE: The Museum has posted a YouTube video showing the specimen and offering a brief story about it.