Anna Atkins. Cyanotypes

“Often replicated, seldom improved on, the elegant cyanotypes of Anna Atkins are timeless.” * New Scientist *“TASCHEN honors [Atkins’] achievement with a magnificent complete edition… A must.” * Monopol *“The images of enigmatic beauty to which Anna Atkins dedicated her life [are] highlighted in a superb new book published by TASCHEN.” * BeauxArts Magazine *“The cyanotypes appeal, today, partly for their restrained coolness, but they can be seductive too; the pictures delight us with their subtle intricacy or ravishing exuberance.” * Apollo *“A remarkable testament to the skill, persistence and botanical passion of someone who had rare scientific opportunities for a woman of her time, and who made the most of them.” * Nature *“An immense work that is now being shown in its entirety for the first time. Cyanotypes presents Atkins’ groundbreaking technology in a scientific and art historical context in order to honor the groundbreaking contributions of a true pioneer.” * Stern *“Everything there is to know about Anna Atkins, pioneer of photography, is collected in this exquisite TASCHEN volume.” * Vogue *“…[a] lavish large-format volume.” * RA Magazine *“…a celebrated botanist and a pioneering photographer.” * History Today *“…reveals the ingenuity of Atkins.” * New Scientist *“These beautifully detailed images show the remarkable legacy of Anna Atkins, a 19th-century botanist who left her stamp on science and photography with her signature “cyanotype” prints.” * New Scientist *“…a luminous new edition.” * Harper’s Bazaar *“Set against that bright Prussian blue background, like alabaster ballerinas of sun and light and frozen movement, Anna Atkins’ subjects still beguile like some botanical dance.” * The Washington Post *

Peter Walther has edited various publications on literary, photographic, and contemporary historical themes, including books on Goethe, Fontane, Thomas Mann, Hans Fallada, and writers in the First World War, as well as several illustrated books with historical color photographs. He is the author of the TASCHEN publications The First World War in Colour (2014), New Deal Photography. USA 1935–1943 (2016) and Anna Atkins. Cyanotypes (2023).