(BREMER PRESS). VESALIUS.

ICONES ANATOMICAE.

      The 1543 Vesalius in Fine Affordable Facsimile [Munich]: Printed by the Bremer Press for the Academia Medicinae Nova-Eboracensis et Bibliotheca Universitatis Monacensis, 1934 ""575 x 415 mm. (22 3/4 x 16 1/2"""")."" 5 p.l. 189 xiii [5] pp. [11] leaves. ONE OF 615 COPIES (This is copy # 544). Fine publisher's reddish brown half pigskin over thick blue boards front cover with gilt titling five raised bands black morocco label edges untrimmed. In a (slightly worn but still solid and useful) publisher's folding box of linen and cardboard. WITH 277 ANATOMICAL IMAGES ON 87 PLATES (including one four-page folding plate) 50 of these reproduced photographically and 227 PRINTED FROM THE ORIGINAL WOOD BLOCKS cut during Vesalius' lifetime under his eye and now preserved at the library of the University of Munich. Except for just a hint of soil to the covers and a tiny bit of rubbing to board edges in mint condition. Heirs of Hippocrates 177; Norman 2145. The Flemish physician Andreas Vesalius (1514-64) was one of the greatest figures in history both because he inaugurated the science of anatomy and because he can be considered the first man in the field of medicine to insist that his science be based on fact rather than on authority. He studied at Louvain Montpellier and Paris served as a surgeon in the armies of Emperor Charles V and taught anatomy at the great university of Padua. He was one of the first to dissect the human body and his epoch-making and controversial book "De Corporis Humani Fabrica" (1543) which superseded all previous notions of human anatomy is the most famous anatomical book ever printed. After emphasizing its importance in terms of the evolution of medicine "Heirs of Hippocrates" adds that the 177 woodcuts included in the book "executed under the supervision of Vesalius by the artist Jan Stephan van Calcar (1499-1546?) a student of Titian are famous for their beauty accuracy and lavishness of detail and number." To own the first printing of the book in any kind of reasonably good condition now could easily cost $500000 or more a fact that makes having a facsimile a prudent alternative especially when a beautifully made one is available. Founded in 1911 by Willy Wiegand (1884-1961) and others and active until just before World War II the Bremer Press ("Bremer-Presse" in German) had an influence on German printing that in Cave's words "was probably greater and longer lasting than that of any of the other fine presses." The press used a limited number of specially cut typefaces to beautiful effect and with only one exception refrained from ornamentation. That exception of course is the present most impressive "Icones Anatomicae" a publication jointly promoted by the New York Academy of Medicine and the Library of the University of Munich. Our volume is really three works in one consisting of the text (mostly set in modern typeface) and images--almost entirely made from the original woodblocks--for three of Vesalius' publications chiefly the "Fabrica" described above. The other two are the "Epitome" of Vesalius' "Fabrica" which was an illustrated compendium of the work with its own woodcuts and the "Tabulae Anatomicae Sex" Vesalius' very short first work printed in Venice in 1538. The publication of our book was occasioned by the discovery of the original "Fabrica" woodblocks then in the University of Munich Library blocks that were subsequently destroyed in World War II. The publication also includes Vesalius' letter to the printer explaining the arrangement of the woodblocks. Whether considered as a medical item or the product of a fine private press this is a most impressive book in especially fine condition.