Cheselden, Anatomy, 1741

The Anatomy of the Human Body. By W. Cheselden, Surgeon to his Majesty’s Royal Hospital at Chelsea Fellow of the Royal Society And Member of The Royal Academy of Surgeons at Paris. The VIth Edition with Forty Copper Plates Engraved by Ger: Vandergucht. London. Printed by William Bowyer. MDCCXLI. 1741. 
 
Early full brown leather over boards, rebacked (probably 20th century) in slightly lighter yellow, with raised bands, red leather title label, and stamped in blind. Boards a bit scuffed. Corners slightly bumped. Bookplate (Edward Chatterton Orpen) on front paste down. Ink and pencil notations on ffep. Ink underlining and marginalis on 164/165. Mild toning mostly at front and rear. Mostly bright and clean with mild foxing. Binding tight. 
Ffep, frontis, title [8] 336, rfep; with 40 plates batched throughout text. 
 
A4, A-Tt4. 
 
Garrison-Morton 390 records the first edition of 1713. This tremendously popular anatomy book ran through 13 editions (into the 19th century). Cheselden inaugurated lectures on anatomy and surgery at St. Thomas’ Hospital in 1720. Waller 1943 (see G-M 395 and Heirs 512 for first and second editions). The “supplicating skeleton” as well as the fetal skeleton standing aside an adult humerus have become quite famous in the history of anatomic illustrations. 
 
William Cheselden (1688 – 1752) was a physician for several large London hospitals and chief surgeon in Chelsea. The editions of his Anatomy “contain very excellent copperplates differing, however, in number and content.” (Choulant 261).