Scolopendrium Vulgare (1852–54): Art, History and Details

Scolopendrium Vulgare (1852–54) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Anna Atkins (British, 1799–1871).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

In 1843, Anna Atkins produced the first book illustrated with photographs. The book was the earliest use of photography in a scientific publication. An amateur botanist, Atkins overcame the difficulties of making accurate drawings by placing plants directly on light-sensitive paper and exposing them to light. With these cameraless photographs, later called photograms, she was able to carefully record the basic elements of a plant's line, shape, and texture. This example illustrates a specimen of Scolopendrium Vulgare, also known as Hart's-Tongue fern.

Object facts

• Title: Scolopendrium Vulgare
• Date: 1852–54
• Creator attribution: Anna Atkins (British, 1799–1871)
• Culture: England, 19th century
• Type: Photograph
• Technique: cyanotype
• Dimensions: Image: 33.3 x 22.9 cm (13 1/8 x 9 in.); Paper: 48.3 x 37.5 cm (19 x 14 3/4 in.); Matted: 61 x 50.8 cm (24 x 20 in.)
• Collection: PH - British 19th Century
• Department: Photography
• Accession number: 1995.26

Collection credit

Norman O. Stone and Ella A. Stone Memorial Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Cleveland Museum of Art, Tom E Hinson. Catalogue of Photography. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1996.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.