Conscia Life: Algae Queen

Conscia Life: Algae Queen

The Botanist Who Paved the Path for Photography

The 19th century British photographer Anna Atkins is considered the woman who made the world's first photobook, though she largely earned that recognition posthumously.

Reading Conscia Life: Algae Queen 1 minute
shizonema-comoides
conferva-linum
Callithamnion pedicellatum

Schizonema comoides (top left), Conferva Linum (top right), and Callithamnion pedicellatum (bottom) Callithamnion pedicellatum from Part XI of Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions, 1849-1850

golden half circle shape

While her aim wasn’t to be an artist, Atkins was clearly tuned into aesthetics, laying her subjects out on the page in choreographed compositions, from groupings of small sprigs to singular tentacled sprays. The Latin text—also captured by cyanotype, rather than the letterpress-printed technique that was standard in her day—reminds us that, beauty aside, we are in the realm of scientific categorization, capturing natural phenomenon in all their precise glory.

Dictyota stomaria

Dictyota stomaria, from Part XI of Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions, 1849-1850

Conscia Life

Conscia Life reflects our desire to build a conscious lifestyle that extends beyond our hair care brand. It’s where we tell stories that inspire, educate and highlight issues, offering a richer connection between self care and the natural world, between wellness and social culture, and between the today and tomorrow we all share.