GEMINUS, Thomas (ca. 1510-1562). Compendiosa totius anatomie delineatio, aere exarata . London: John Herford, October 1545. Chancery broadsheets (393 x 270 mm). 44 irregularly signed typographical sheets printed on both sides of the paper, 41 unnumbered engraved sheets (one folding), printed on one side. Engraved armorial, architectural and allegorical title (expertly backed with the thinnest tissue), author's 2-page letterpress dedication to Henry VIII, text in double column, roman type, 6-line woodcut historiated initials; the illustrations comprising the fold-out engraving of the external anatomy of Adam and Eve, 3 skeletal engravings, 16 muscular engravings, 5 arterial and venal engravings, 4 neural engravings, 6 engravings of organs, 4 cerebral engravings, and one engraving of ocular parts and surgical instruments, many of the engravings with several separately numbered figures, all by the author after Vesalian woodcuts. All pages ruled in red. (B3 and C5 with repaired tears entering text, Adam and Eve plate slightly creased and with 2 short repaired tears not affecting image, minor marginal tears or repairs to 7 leaves, printing flaw to C5.) 17th-century green-stained vellum over pasteboard, spine title gilt-lettered, edges stained red (covers slightly warped). Provenance : Dr. Crawford W. Adams (bookplate). FIRST EDITION of Geminus's abridgement of Vesalius's Epitome , illustrated with copperplate engravings based on the woodcuts of the Fabrica and the Epitome . Although Vesalius is prominently cited in the dedication, he did not authorize the publication of the work, of which he complained in his 1546 epistle on china-root (see lot 214). Geminus was a Belgian engraver and instrument maker who had emigrated to England in about 1540, where he practiced his profession as well as that of physician to Henry VIII, notwithstanding his lack of formal medical training. He has been credited, possibly erroneously, with the introduction of engraving to English book production: the four unsigned engravings for Thomas Raynalde's Byrth of mankinde (1540), a revision of Roesslin's treatise on midwifery, are the first recorded copper-engraved illustrations in an English book; Hind attributed them on contextual grounds to Geminus (see lot 180). His anatomy is the second English book illustrated with copper engravings and the first to contain an engraved title, called by Hind "the first engraving of any artistic importance produced in England" ( Engraving in England in the 16th and 17th centuries , Cambridge 1952-64, pp. 39-55). As the vehicle for the dissemination of Vesalian anatomy in England, it is one of the most important of the many 16th- and 17th-century pirated versions and plagiarisms of Vesalius, of which it is also the first. An English translation by Nicholas Udall was published in 1553 (see lot 103). The copperplates were subsequently acquired by the Parisian printer Andr Wechel, who used them for his 1564 edition of Vesalian anatomical plates. OF CONSIDERABLE RARITY IN FINE CONDITION. Choulant-Frank, pp. 192-94; Cushing VI.C-2; Garrison-Morton 376.1; NLM/Durling 2039; STC 11714; Stillwell Science 645; Wellcome 2731; Norman 886.
GEMINUS, Thomas (ca. 1510-1562). Compendiosa totius anatomie delineatio, aere exarata . London: John Herford, October 1545. Chancery broadsheets (393 x 270 mm). 44 irregularly signed typographical sheets printed on both sides of the paper, 41 unnumbered engraved sheets (one folding), printed on one side. Engraved armorial, architectural and allegorical title (expertly backed with the thinnest tissue), author's 2-page letterpress dedication to Henry VIII, text in double column, roman type, 6-line woodcut historiated initials; the illustrations comprising the fold-out engraving of the external anatomy of Adam and Eve, 3 skeletal engravings, 16 muscular engravings, 5 arterial and venal engravings, 4 neural engravings, 6 engravings of organs, 4 cerebral engravings, and one engraving of ocular parts and surgical instruments, many of the engravings with several separately numbered figures, all by the author after Vesalian woodcuts. All pages ruled in red. (B3 and C5 with repaired tears entering text, Adam and Eve plate slightly creased and with 2 short repaired tears not affecting image, minor marginal tears or repairs to 7 leaves, printing flaw to C5.) 17th-century green-stained vellum over pasteboard, spine title gilt-lettered, edges stained red (covers slightly warped). Provenance : Dr. Crawford W. Adams (bookplate). FIRST EDITION of Geminus's abridgement of Vesalius's Epitome , illustrated with copperplate engravings based on the woodcuts of the Fabrica and the Epitome . Although Vesalius is prominently cited in the dedication, he did not authorize the publication of the work, of which he complained in his 1546 epistle on china-root (see lot 214). Geminus was a Belgian engraver and instrument maker who had emigrated to England in about 1540, where he practiced his profession as well as that of physician to Henry VIII, notwithstanding his lack of formal medical training. He has been credited, possibly erroneously, with the introduction of engraving to English book production: the four unsigned engravings for Thomas Raynalde's Byrth of mankinde (1540), a revision of Roesslin's treatise on midwifery, are the first recorded copper-engraved illustrations in an English book; Hind attributed them on contextual grounds to Geminus (see lot 180). His anatomy is the second English book illustrated with copper engravings and the first to contain an engraved title, called by Hind "the first engraving of any artistic importance produced in England" ( Engraving in England in the 16th and 17th centuries , Cambridge 1952-64, pp. 39-55). As the vehicle for the dissemination of Vesalian anatomy in England, it is one of the most important of the many 16th- and 17th-century pirated versions and plagiarisms of Vesalius, of which it is also the first. An English translation by Nicholas Udall was published in 1553 (see lot 103). The copperplates were subsequently acquired by the Parisian printer Andr Wechel, who used them for his 1564 edition of Vesalian anatomical plates. OF CONSIDERABLE RARITY IN FINE CONDITION. Choulant-Frank, pp. 192-94; Cushing VI.C-2; Garrison-Morton 376.1; NLM/Durling 2039; STC 11714; Stillwell Science 645; Wellcome 2731; Norman 886.
Try LotSearch and its premium features for 7 days - without any costs!
Be notified automatically about new items in upcoming auctions.
Create an alert
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
