Honey Locust Leaf and Pod (Gleditsia triacanthos)
Artist/Culture
Anna Atkins
(English, 1799–1871)
Dateabout 1854
Mediumcyanotype
Dimensions34 x 24.5 cm (13 3/8 x 9 5/8 in.)
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineStoddard Acquisition Fund
Object number1989.9
DescriptionFormerly titled "Leaf and Pod from Honey Locust Tree (Gleditsia triacanthos)"Label TextAtkins is recognized as the first woman to produce a substantial body of photographic work. She came to the medium through her father, John George Children, who presided over the February 1840 meeting of the Royal Society where Henry Fox Talbot's discoveries in photography were disclosed. Among her father's friends was Sir John Herschel, who discovered the cyanotype process. Atkins learned this procedure from Herschel himself, and used it to create this image. She produced one of the first books illustrated with photography entitled British Algae. Produced in installments over a ten year period, this book contained nearly 400 original cyanotypes. Atkins' interests were As one of the first female photographers and among the first to print cyanotypes, Anna Atkins was a pioneer in photography. She studied botany and used cyanotypes to record the specimens she collected. In 1843, she published the first photography book, which consisted of contact-printed cyanotypes of algae. It is likely that Honey Locust Leaf and Pod comes from a different project documenting British and American ferns. The honey locust leaf in this cyanotype has a fragmented stem, illustrating the fragility of the botanical specimens she studied.ProvenanceWilliam L. Schaeffer, Chester, CT
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