Anna Atkins book on English Algae

removed account4 · Mar 17, 2019

Yesterday ( 3/16 ) was Anna Atkin's birthday ! If you don't know who she was, she was most likely the first woman photographer ( its either her or Fox Talbot's wife Constance, but none of Constance's images survive ). Atkins was friends with Fox Talbot and Sir John Herschel ( Mr Fixer and Mr Cyanotype ). She made a self published book ( the first illustrated by photographs ! ) of Algae ( 1843-1853 ) called Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions. Only 17 of these books exist. To put into context Talbot invented Calotypes+Saltprints in 1839, Herschel invented Cyanotypes in 1840 and Talbot's book ( the first commerically printed book with photographs ) The Pencil of Nature was published in 1844 !

Has anyone seen Atkin's book ? Yeah, I know the NY Public Library has a digital version online but there really is nothing like a physical BOOK. If you saw it, did it blow your mind ? Like Atkins, Darwin also made contact prints of botany when he was on the HMS Beagle.

MartinCrabtree · Mar 17, 2019

I was unaware of that. Thanks for posting up. Beautiful innovative work.

Peter Schrager · Mar 17, 2019

John they had the book at the recent exhibition. lovely but the light in the room for obvious reasons was very dim!!

Lachlan Young · Mar 17, 2019

jnantz said:
Yesterday ( 3/16 ) was Anna Atkin's birthday ! If you don't know who she was, she was most likely the first woman photographer ( its either her or Fox Talbot's wife Constance, but no images survive of Constance ). Atkins was friends with Fox Talbot and Sir John Herschel ( Mr Fixer and Mr Cyanotype ). She made a self published book ( the first illustrated by photographs ! ) of Algae ( 1843-1853 ) called Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions. Only 17 of these books exist. To put into context Talbot invented Calotypes+Saltprints in 1839, Herschel invented Cyanotypes in 1840 and Talbot's book ( the first commerically printed book with photographs ) The Pencil of Nature was published in 1844 !

Has anyone seen Atkin's book ? Yeah, I know the NY Public Library has a digital version online but there really is nothing like a physical BOOK. If you saw it, did it blow your mind ? Like Atkins, Darwin also made contact prints of botany when he was on the HMS Beagle.

I've seen one of the 17 copies a couple of years ago - in many ways it's an epoch defining book from the perspectives of history of science & cultural history - though I'd argue that questioning whether it's artistically important (or was even intended as such) is perhaps rather beside the point compared to how revolutionary it was in so many other aspects.

NedL · Mar 17, 2019

Here's a link to the digitized version: https://digitalcollections.nypl.org...-algae-cyanotype-impressions#/?tab=navigation

I was lucky to browse through an original Pencil of Nature, but not this.

Anna Atkins book on English Algae

removed account4

MartinCrabtree

Peter Schrager

Lachlan Young

NedL

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