A trained botanist, raised by her father of the same profession, prior to her photographic book, Atkins had been a prolific illustrator and published over 250 drawings of shells. Despite her innovations – and the 6,000 or so Cyanotypes of flora and fauna she left behind – Atkins was largely ignored after her death, until 1985 when her name resurfaced thanks to a reissuing of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions.
