Author's presentation copy to Louis Alfred Becquerel

CRUVEILHIER, Jean.

Anatomie pathologique du corps humain.

Paris: J. B. Bailliere, 1829.

1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. Item #003359

1829-1842. Two volumes of text and plates, large folio (475 x 308 mm). Half-titles to each vol., list of subscribers in vol. 1, tables and lists of plates at end of each vol., general index at end of vol. 2., 233 lithographed plates on 231 sheets (2 double-page, 171 hand-colored) by J. G. Martin and A. Chazal, protected by tissue-paper. Occasional toning, spotting and foxing (few plates stronger). Contemporary half calf over mottled boards, spines gilt-lettered, blind-tooled and decorated in gilt, marbled endpapers (minor wear to extremities, wear to corners). Provenances: Louis Alfred Becquerel*, presented from the author and inscribed on vol. I half title "A mon cher Alfred Becquerel / Cruveilhier". The set later passed on to Augustin Grisolle* (ink stamp on title and his inscription on half title below) and thereafter to Henri Meunier. A very good, clean and unmarked copy. - Visit our website to see more images! ----

FIRST EDITION OF THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE OF THE EARLY ATLASES OF PATHOLOGY, monumental in size and scope, and unsurpassed in the beauty and clarity of its plates. It was published over thirteen years, in forty separate parts, with a total of 233 mostly hand-colored lithographed plates. "The significance of [Cruveilhier's] work cannot be overestimated," Goldschmid wrote in the introduction to his bibliography of pathology illustration (p. 12).
"The fine hand-coloured lithographs of gross pathology make this one of the greatest works of its kind. Cruveilhier, first Professor of Pathological Anatomy in Paris, gave the first description of multiple sclerosis and an early description of 'Cruveilhier's palsy'" (Garrison-Morton).
Cruveilhier's atlas continued the grand tradition of anatomical illustration, and marked a great advance in graphics with its hand-colored folio lithographed plates. It preserved a record of a superb collection of pathology specimens, many of which are seldom seen today. Among the many original observations are the first descriptions of hypertrophic pyloric stenosis and ulceration of the stomach due to hyperacidity (both known as "Cruveilhier's disease"), and of disseminated sclerosis; there is an early description of "Cruveilhier's palsy" (the progressive muscular atrophy also known as "Aran-Duchenne disease,") and some remarkable plates of the brain and spinal cord. The fine quality of the book made the reputation of Baillière as a medical publishing house, and the illustrations served as models into the early 20th century. Spillane called Cruveilhier's atlas a "treasure-chest of neurology" (p. 206) noting its original illustrations of multiple sclerosis, auditory neurinoma, intracranial epidermoid, intracranial and spinal meningiomas. Thanks to the accuracy of the fine illustrations, Cruveilhier's atlas "has become less dated than some more recent ones that make the most use of the microscope. That is why Virchow called himself Cruveilhier's disciple and why many of his findings remain valid" (DSB). Only one other edition of the atlas was published, an Italian translation published in four volumes from 1837 to 1841, illustrated with copies of the original lithographs, the original stones having apparently been destroyed.
*Louis Alfred Becquerel (1814-1862) was a French physicist and medical researcher. In 1840 he obtained his doctorate with the thesis "Recherches cliniques sur les affections tuberculeuses du cerveau", and in 1847 attained the title of professeur agrégé. Augustin Grisolle (1811-69) was a French physician, pathologist and professor at the Paris faculty of medicine and a member of the Académie de Médecine. He was author of the two-vol. Traité élémentaire et pratique de pathologie interne, 1844.
References: Garrison-Morton 2286; Heirs of Hippocrates 1479; Norman 538; Wellcome II, p.412; Goldschmid pp. 11-15,137-9; Long, History of Pathology, pp. 85-87; Spillane, The Doctrine of the Nerves (1981) pp. 205-20. - Visit our website for additional images!

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