Milestones of Science Books

MASCAGNI, Paolo.

Anatomia universale [...] rappresentata con tavole in rame ridotte a minori forme di quelle della grande.

Florence: V. Batelli e figli, 1833.

1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. Item #003724

Large folio (457 x 298 mm). 292, [4] pp. including title page and index at end, 150 engraved plates (14 folding), comprising 75 partly printed in color and hand-finished in color, and 75 uncolored duplicates in outline. The colored plates with small round blind-stamp at lower corner (mostly shaved). Contemporary three-quarter vellum, spine with gilt-lettered red morocco label and some gilt tooling (boards scratched, board edges worn, lower corners bumped and scuffed). Text and plates crisp and bright with only very little age-toning and very minor occasional spotting at margins, the title page with vertical creases, the two unnumbered leaves of index with old paper repair at fore-margin far away from text area, 8 plates with light pale dampstain at lower blank corner, plate 24 bound upside-down, final plate slightly soiled near upper corner. Provenance: Vincentius Columna (small ink stamp to title-page). An exceptional, fresh and clean copy. ----

Garrison-Morton 409.1; Wellcome IV, p.73; Roberts & Tomlinson p. 390; Sappol, Dream Anatomy pp.126 and 130; DSB IX, p.154. - Small folio authorized edition of Masgagni's great Anatomia Universa. As incredibly spectacular as the images of the Anatomia Universa were, Antonio Serantoni, the artist responsible for the drawing, engraving, and hand-coloring of that enormous work, recognized that its great size made it excessively expensive and virtually impossible to use. Therefore, three years after completion of the elephantine edition he issued a new edition as a normal-sized folio from Florence, with reduced versions of the spectacular hand-colored plates, and many changes. It is from this version that the work is generally known. - Visit our website to see more images!

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