1st Edition 1733 William Cheselden's 'Osteographia, or the Anatomy of the Bones', in English, Limited to 300 Initial Editions.
Cheselden, William (1688-1752) 'Osteographia, or the Anatomy of the Bones by William Cheselden surgeon to her majesty; FRS surgeon to St Thomas's Hospital, and member of the royal academy of surgery at Paris' First Edition.
Pub. LONDON: 1733, 87 leaves, complete 56 plates, (includes 2 endpapers, title, arms, dedication, 3 intro, 2 to the reader, 20 pages text, 56 plates, 1 endpaper).
Produced in a limited edition of 300, this volume is rare as many were broken up. In Cheselden's Anatomy of 1740, he reports that only 97 of the 300 were sold and many of the other copies and extra prints were broken up to sell separately. Cheselden was a pioneer in using the camera obscura to attain details of a skelton for book illustration. A vignette of his technique is displayed on the title page. Russell notes that "nearly all" the vignettes and four of the large plates were drawn by Jacob Schijnvoet (Shinevoet), and the remaining plates were the work of Gerard van der Gucht (Vandergucht 1696-1776). Cheseldon was a noted surgeon and anatomist who was admitted to the Royal Society in 1712 and beca me surgeon to Queen Caroline. As well as being known for his operations on the eye and for lithotomy, he produced this excellent volume on the human bones at his own expense. In English.
Folio with tan leather spine and board cover, some marks and scuffs to cover, mild marking and foxing to pages, minor pencil script to some pages.
References: ESTC (RLIN) T78073; Garrison-Morton (5th ed.) 395; Russell, K.F. British anatomy 1525-1800, 172; Wellcome cat. of printed books, II, p. 335. Bookplate: Ex Libris Anatomica K.F. Russell (340x500mm)



PROVENANCE:
Collection Late Kenneth F. Russell (1911-1987), Professor of Anatomy and Medical History, University of Melbourne.

Estimate $3,000-4,000