A striated pyrite crystal consisting of cubes modified by octahedrons and pyritohedrons with a small clter of small white quartz crystals; held in a white card collector's tray. 140 grams, 53mm (2"). From the historic ‘Victorian Meum’ or later collection of Gregory, Bottley & Lloyd (Gregory's"). This item is part of a historic collection of fossils and minerals which has recently been reviewed by leading geological expert Dr. Ronald Bonewitz. The firm Gregory, Bottley and Lloyd (Gregory's), was acquired by TimeLine Auctions in 2016. London-born James Reynolds Gregory (1832-1899) founded thepany, which is the second longest-running gem and fossil dealer in the world. James was educated at Archbishop Tennison's School, and afterward found employment in a jewellerypany on Regent Street. In 1858 he established his own biness in King William Street. A few years later he moved to ‘very extensive premises’ in Golden Square, Covent Garden. He was one of the best known dealers in London, exhibiting at majormercial shows throughout the world and winning awards for excellence in Paris in 1867, Sydney in 1879 and London in 1862, 1883 and 1884. James primarily bought his stock at auction, from collectors and other dealers, and supplied many major collectors and scientists of his day. He built superb personal collections, a selection going to the British Meum. He wrote many papers and was a member of several learned societies including the Society of Arts. The biness became known as J.R. Gregory &pany in 1896, still under James' management with the assistance of his son Albert Gregory (b.1864"). When James died three years later, the biness passed to Albert. At the end of the 19th century most London dealers had folded or retired, many selling out to J.R. Gregory & Co. Albert continued by acquiring Rsell and Shaw (Est. 1848) in 1925 and Francis H. Butler (Est. 1884) in 1927. Percy Bottley (1904-1980) took over thepany in 1931, renaming it Gregory, Bottley &pany with respect to his predecessors. Percy’spany survived the 2nd World War by buying out all of itspetitors, including the supplier to Pitt-Rivers, Samuel Henson (Est. 1840) and G.H. Richards (Est. 1897) in 1936. Percy also added many important collections to his stock including those of Rev. F. Holmes in 1940, and the Graves collection in 1943. Following Percy's death in 1981, the biness was sold to Brian Lloyd, whereupon it became Gregory, Bottley & Lloyd. Brian had been Sotheby’s main Natural History expert in the 1960s and 1970s, and subsequently traded from Pall Mall. The biness continued to thrive, and Brian purchased the Joseph Neeld (1789-1856) collection in 1974 and the historic gold collection of H.S. Gordon, first exhibited at the Empire Exhibition, South Africa in 1936. Brian moved the biness to 12-13 Rickett Street in 1982, and to 13 Seagrave Road in 1993. He carried on thepany's specialization in historic collections, most recently