Zincowoodwardite with Serpierite (ex Bill and Anne Cook Collection)

Item Description

Zincowoodwardite is part of the Woodwardite group, and is a hydrated zinc aluminum sulfate. It's the zinc analogue of Woodwardite, named after Samuel Pickworth Woodward, a British geologist. Serpierite was named in 1881 after Giovanni Battista Serpieri who was an Italian mining entrepreneur, and a developer of mines in the Lavrion District, Attiki, Greece. Serpierite is a hydrated calcium copper zinc sulfate is actually part of the Devilline Group, and is the calcium analogue of Aldridgeite. This piece is from the Christiana Mine, in Lavrium, Greece which is the co-type locality for Zincowoodwardite. Beautiful blue, acicular, radiating crystals of Zincowoodwardite and Serpierite can be seen on various places specimen, but make no mistake, this is a micro specimen, and is best seen under magnification. We have photographed the piece with a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens to better illustrate the quality. From the collection of William ("Bill") (1927-2006) and Anne (1928-2021) Cook of Cleveland, Ohio. 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.