Slim but huge print size anatomical reference work from the 1500s. Colophon says it was printed in August of 1543 in Basel. Cutout pages intact (they were apparently intended to be cut out and pasted by hand to show a layered human anatomical reference). One page with two engravings missing, otherwise complete. Condition is currently terrible — mold (not sure if dormant or active), foxing, water damage, stains throughout the book, edge loss, worming holes, and possibly blood on the cover (it was used during dissections after all…). But it seems to be extremely rare in private hands. I’d like to get it appraised and would like to inquire somewhere about possible conservation. Any advice? I am based in Zurich.
e-rara.ch/bau_1/content/zoom/691201
Picked up a small group of original lithographic plates from what I believe is Bourgery & Jacob’s Traité complet de l’anatomie de l’homme (1831–1854), one of the most ambitious anatomical atlases ever produced. Drawn and lithographed by D.M. Galet, printed by Lemercier, Bénard et Cie in Paris.
The color is original hand-application — not a later chromolithograph reprint. Paper is heavy laid stock with the characteristic cream tone of mid-19th century French printing. Planches 159 and 160 show deep abdominal and retroperitoneal dissections; Planche 170 covers pelvic anatomy with multiple figures.
These were part of an 8-volume opus that took over 20 years to complete. The illustrations are genuinely stunning as objects — medical science meets fine art.