New book collates the pioneering photographs of Anna Atkins

These beautifully detailed images showcase the remarkable legacy of 19th-century botanist Anna Atkins, who left her mark on science and photography with her signature “cyanotype” prints.

Excerpt from the new book by Peter Walther. Anna Atkins.CyanotypeThis reveals Atkins’ ingenuity in using cyanotypes as a medium for documenting plants and algae. Her images possess unprecedented clarity and precision and were produced by placing specimens on paper coated with a light-sensitive iron salt solution. She then exposed the paper to sunlight and washed it with water to fix her image.

Published by Atkins UK Algae Pictures: Cyanotype Impressions 1843 – First picture in a book. She published a total of three volumes, but only a few are now known to exist in museums, libraries and galleries around the world.

Anna Atkins.Cyanotype A collection of over 550 iconic images of her that not only represent “a milestone in the history of science and media,” but also include intricate blue-contrasted specimens. It’s also special because of its “timeless aesthetic appeal,” writes Walther.

The main image is algae Dasha cookwas originally drawn in British algae photo collection II. The image below is Sphaceraria scoparia. The third image is Phoenician stone tabletAtkins fern Cyanotypes of British and foreign fernsfollowed by two algae, Rhodomenia policarpa and Camphaba gracilisfeatured in British Algae Photo Album Vol. 3.