Use Code SAVE5OFF50 for $5 off your next order of 2 or more items over $50!



Anna Atkins Cyanotypes HC TASCHEN - Good

Regular price $70.61

Shipping calculated at checkout.

GOOD -Book is in Good condition with moderate shelf wear. This book may have defects such as small corner ding(s), short cover crease(s), moderate loss of cover gloss or other issues but still a good copy. NO major issues like missing pages/cover, liquid damage, ripped/cut covers, etc. Book likely has a remainder mark.

Creators: Peter Walther

Publisher: TASCHEN
ISBN: 9783836596039
Binding: Hardcover
Pages: 660 pages
On Sale Date: 5/26/2023
Dimensions: 12 in H | 9.6 in W | 5.6 lb Wt

The first woman to use the fledgling medium of photography for scientific purposes, Anna Atkins captured the delicacy of algae and ferns in her albums, pioneering examples of photographic practice in their own right. For the first time, this edition reprints her works British Algae and Cyanotypes of British and Foreign Ferns in their entirety.
At the dawn of the Victorian era in her open-air laboratory in Halstead, Kent, Anna Atkins embarked on a radical experiment to document botanical species using a completely new artistic medium. The inimitable cyanotype photograms of algae and ferns she created were made into the first books to feature photographic images. Striking yet ethereal, these albums are a perfect synthesis of art and science.

Although the cyanotype technique was discovered by her friend John Herschel, Atkins was the first to realize both its practical purpose for her own interests in botany and taxonomy, and its intriguing artistic potential. The process, which involved fixing the object on sensitized paper and exposing it directly to sunlight, results in the Prussian blue pigment that forms the unmistakeable backdrop to these artworks.

Atkins albums British Algae (18431853) 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 her mastery of multiple disciplines: While the cyanotype process allowed Atkins to meet the challenges of accurate representation, the delicate contours of the specimens, set above the intense blue background, has lent the images a timeless aesthetic appeal.

This edition, drawing extensively from the copies of the New York Public Library and J. Paul Getty Museum, has carefully compiled cyanotypes from several sources to reprint Atkins seminal works in full. Over 550 cyanotype impressions are accompanied by a series of introductory essays from Peter Walther, placing Atkins work in its scientific and art-historical contexts and paying rightful tribute to the groundbreaking contributions of a female pioneer.

Image and Condition Note - We typically have multiple copies of the titles we sell. Whether using a stock or our own image, shipped books are usually not the actual book pictured and are a representation of the title and condition. We feel strongly that the shipped book will match the condition in our guideline. We buy books directly from publishers and authorized secondary distributors. The majority of our books are unsold returns from retailers to distributors and have never been purchased by an end consumer. We don't buy books from thrift stores or library sales to resell. All of our books are stored in commercial warehousing in a smoke and pet-free environment.

FEATURES