An art binding by Anita Conti at the Collège de France

Anita Conti (née Anita Caracotchian, 1899-1997), of Armenian descent, was France's first female oceanographer, as well as a writer and journalist. She is still best known for her impressive photographic output (almost 40 000 clichés) documenting her scientific missions and her private life. Among her many talents is her art bookbinding. Since 1937, the Collège de France has preserved one of her creations in the form of an exceptionally well-bound book of handwritten poems.