Seaweed and Algae

Seaweed and Algae brushes made from woodblock prints taken from the book "Manual of British Marine Algae" by W.H. Harvey, published in 1859.

On a rather sweet note, Harvey dedicates the book to "Mrs. Griffiths of Torquay, Devon, a lady whose long-continued researched have, more than those of any other observer in Britain, contributed to the present advanced state of marine botany and whose numerous discoveries, commemorated in the genus Griffithsia, entitle her to the lasting gratitude of her fellow students....

Mrs. Amelia Griffiths was an amateur marine botanist who lived in Torquay, Devon, where she spent a good deal of her life beach combing (a rather strange pursuit for a woman in that era). She died in 1858.

Before you jump to the conclusion that we have a hidden romance here, it's worth noting that Mrs. Amelia Griffiths was born in 1768, which means that she died when she was 90. A very ripe old age in those days. But in some ways, I think it makes the commemoration sweeter still, because clearly this woman did not get much formal recognition for her studies at the time.