Larry John Schaaf

Anna Atkins

"Recognized as the earliest female photographer, Anna Atkins is equally remarkable for having produced the first book to use photographic illustrations. That book, [Photographs of] British algae : cyanotype impressions ... constitutes the first serious application of photography to scientific publication ... In 1841, Anna Atkins was inspired by advice from Fox Talbot, inventor of photography on paper, to take up the new art. By the autumn of 1843, she had mastered Sir John Herschel's 'beautiful process of cyanotype' (the blueprint process) and began issuing the first parts of her book, which documented her large collection of seaweed. While it was not uncommon for contemporary ladies to occupy their leisure time gathering and preserving botanical specimens, few were as dedicated or as creative as Mrs. Atkins. She inspired her friend Anne Dixon, a vicar's wife, to collaborate with her in creating the elegant cyanotype photograms of ferns, flowers, feathers, and lace which appear in this volume"--Book jacket.

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