VINTAGE SAND BELL PAPERWEIGHT - ALUM BAY, ISLE OF WIGHT (SECOND HAND)

VINTAGE BELL-SHAPED SAND SOUVENIR WITH SAND PICTURE OF THE NEEDLES

From Alum Bay, Isle of Wight

(Second hand item)

A classic sand ornament, from Alum Bay on the Isle of Wight. The coloured sands of Alum Bay have been collected and turned into attractive souvenirs since Victorian times.

The colours of the Alum Bay sands are entirely natural and are mostly due to various compounds of iron.  The sands in the cliffs here are part of the Bracklesham Beds and were laid down on an ancient sea floor about 40 million years ago.  Subsequent pressure imposed on the Earth’s crust by the formation of the Alps has pushed the entire sequence of rocks into a vertical position, thus enabling visitors to walk along the beach and therefore forwards or backwards in time.

This item may date from the 1940s or earlier. A felt pad has been glued to the base which obscures the original label.

Click on a picture for a larger image