Margaret Gatty, Victorian Lady Seaweed Collector

In 1848, five years after Anna Atkins' pioneering cyanotypes of sea algae, Margaret Gatty, above, joined the 19th-century lady naturalists' "seaweed sorority," "seaweed hunting in petticoats." Gatty published British Sea-Weeds, "a stunningly illustrated field guide to local algae, fourteen years in the making, detailing 200 specimens in two volumes."

For more of Gatty's illustrations see this Brain Picking's piece on her.
 #womeninSTEM #sciart

"In a cultural genealogy of female botanists, lady algologists were a notable subset."  

Hurrah.

"At that time, botany -- specifically the study of seaweed -- was one scientific field in which women were sometimes able to participate."  

Small confetti canon. 

According to historian of science Anne Shteir,  Margaret Gatty (above in bonnet, reenacted by Liv Hancock) was "a Victorian baccante who trekked along the shore in an unconventional collecting costume she devised for herself." Preach, Gatty.



Image credits:

A wood engraving of Margaret Gatty published in 1873. Image from the National Portrait Gallery.
Plate from "Margaret Gatty's "British Sea-Weeds," Biodiversity Heritage Library/Public Domain.