Tourmaline with Lepidolite

Item Description

A cute thumbnail specimen from Virgem da Lapa, Brazil featuring a single, narrow prismatic crystal of rich blue-green Tourmaline (labeled as Elbaite) which is partially surrounded by soft lilac colored crystals of "Lepidolite" Mica. Now it must be noted that "Lepidolite" is no longer a species, and according to the information we found, Lepidolite is defined as a mineral in the so-called Polylithionite-Trilithionite series, but everybody still uses the term Lepidolite when describing this specific kind of Mica. No damage that I can see, very attractive in person.
From the collection of William ("Bill") (1927-2006) and Anne (1928-2021) Cook of Cleveland, Ohio (#6917). This husband and wife duo were actively involved in the mineral world for many decades. Bill was a PhD geologist, and Anne was a mathematician, and they both were very serious mineral collectors. Bill served for many years as adjunct curator of mineralogy at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and Anne was inducted into the Micromounters' Hall of Fame on October 12, 2019. Both Bill and Anne, at various times, served as president both of the Mineralogical Society of Cleveland and of the Micromineral Society of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and Anne was inducted into the mi The rare barium lithium beryllium phosphate Wilancookite was named in their honor in 2015.