Notebook British Fresh-Water Algae

These images are from 'British Fresh-Water Algae', a two-volume work with 130 illustrations published between 1882 and 1884 by Williams and Norgate, a London-based publisher specialising in educational and scientific literature. Its author, Mordecai Cubitt Cooke (1825-1914), a native of Norfolk, intended it for 'microscopists eager to learn more about the organisms encountered during their excursions to ponds and ditches.' He presents a 'practical' classification, distinguishing five groups: Chlorophyllophyceae (green algae), Phycochromophyceae (blue-green algae), Melanophyceae (brown or blackish algae), Rhodophyceae (pink and red algae), and Diatomophyceae (algae with silica skeletons).