At the dawn of the Victorian era, in her outdoor laboratory in Halstead, Kent, Anna Atkins embarked on a radical experiment to document botanical species using an entirely new artistic medium. The inimitable cyanotypes of algae and ferns she created became the first books to feature photographic images. Striking yet ethereal, these albums are a perfect synthesis of art and science.
Although the technique of cyanotyping was discovered by her friend John Herschel, Atkins was the first to realise both its practical utility for her own interests in botany and taxonomy and its intriguing artistic potential. The process, which involved fixing the object on sensitive paper and exposing it directly to sunlight, results in the Prussian blue pigment that forms the unmistakable backdrop to these works of art.
Atkins's albums British Algae (1843-1853) and Cyanotypes of British and Foreign Ferns (1853), the latter of which was produced with her friend Anne Dixon, are works of remarkable rarity. Reprinted here in their entirety for the first time, they reveal his mastery of multiple disciplines: While the cyanotype process allowed Atkins to meet the challenge of accurate representation, the delicate contours of the specimens, set against the deep blue background, have given the images a timeless aesthetic appeal.
This edition, based largely on copies from the New York Public Library and the J. Paul Getty Museum, has carefully compiled cyanotypes from various sources to reprint Atkins's groundbreaking works in their entirety. Over 550 cyanotype prints accompanied by a series of introductory essays by Peter Walther place Atkins's work in its scientific and art-historical contexts and pay well-deserved tribute to the contributions of a pioneer.

Publisher: Taschen