Monday 16 October (Indoor meeting): 'The Corsi Collection of decorative stones: where geology meets the arts.' Speaker: Monica Price, Head of Earth Collections, Oxford University Museum of Natural History, and known to many members as a result of visits to OUMNH. Monica is the author of a major work on the subject: Price, M.T. (2007) 'Decorative stone: the complete sourcebook', Thames & Hudson, London, and she has made a special study of the Corsi collection at OUM. This early 19th century collection made by Roman lawyer Faustino Corsi comprises 1,000 polished slabs, each of a different decorative stone. He first obtained those used by the ancient Romans, and then added Italian stones used from medieval times to his own day. He also included a selection of decorative rocks and minerals from England, Russia, and other countries. In 1827, Oxford student Stephen Jarrett purchased the collection and presented it to the University of Oxford. It is now in the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. Monica has developed an excellent website documenting the contents and history of the Corsi Collection: http://www.oum.ox.ac.uk/corsi/