In class we learned about Anna Atkins who was one of the first people & women to use the cyanotype process. She created books documenting and preserving algae & various plants. To some extent she was the first person to apply photography to scientific method/purpose. Today the book is still remembered as one of the first to study botany photographically. By coating  pieces of paper with the cyan chemicals and placing the plant/algae in a contact frame, she contact printing the objects directly onto the paper.