Sales catalogue 15: R Lier & Co

Date:: 1930

Reference:: WA/HMM/CM/Sal/40/13

Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Sales catalogue 15: R Lier & Co. Source: Wellcome Collection.

54/130 page 38

COITER’S ADMIRABLE PLATES ON ZOOLOGICAL ANATOMY. 122. (COITER, Volcher). — Colombo, Matteo Realdo. — SCHENCK, Johann Andreas. Anatomia, das ist sinnreiche, kuenst- Columbum in Latein begriffen, anjetzo in Teutsche Sprach versetzt. MIT ANGEFUEGTER ZUGAAB DARINN SCELETA BRUTA dem Leben nachgebildet sind. Durch J. A. Schenckium. 4 leaves, 274 pp., tomy of Colombo and 18, which CONTAIN THE FIGURES OF COITER ON ZOOLOGICAL ANATOMY. De Bry’s device on the title. Folio. Modern vellum. Frankfurt a. M., Matthias Becker for Theodor de Bry, 1608-1609. Frs. 1.250. — EXCEEDINGLY RARE. | NO COPY OF THIS EDITION HAS BEEN OFFERED FOR SALE IN THE LAST TEN YEARS, TO OUR KNOWLEDGE. Also to important bibliographers as Feyfer, the existence of this edition is unknown. Choulant-Frank, p. 210, is the only bibliographer who mentions our edition, in his treatise on Coiter. On Colombo and his Anatomia confer for particulars to nr. 125 of this catalogue. The present edition is the very first German edition of Oolombo’s work, edited by Schenck, with the greatest part of the anato- mical illustrations of Valverde’s Anatomia, edited newly by Colombo in 1589 (Venice). These figures are mostly copies after those of Vesalius. It seems to us a very remarkable fact that the above mentioned figures (showing several differences, changes and new additions in comparison with the 1589 Valverde-edition), have been newly engraved for our German edition. It is most probable that the engraver of these copper- plates was Theodor de Bry, the publisher of our work and a world-famed copper-engraver at Frankfurt. The special feature and the intrinsic value of our work consists in the fact that the second part contains Coiter’s most famous figures re- lating to the zoological anatomy. ‘These figures are most exact copies of the engravings illustrating Coiter’s Animalium sceletorum explicatio- nes, Nuremberg, 1575 (the unique edition), one of the rarest medical works existing. The present edition, edited by Schenck, is the UNIQUE WORK, EXCEPT THE UNDISCOVERABLE ORIGINAL EDITION, TO CONTAIN COITER’S FIGURES OF ANIMAL SKELETONS. ‘¢ Contains plates of skeletons of mammals, amphibia (frog and turtle) and birds. All the illustrations are drawn by Coiter himself. The en- gravings are neat and anatomically exact ’’. (Choul.-Frk). ‘¢ More a comparative anatomist as distinct from a zoologist, was the Hollander, Volcher Coiter (1534-762). He studied under Fallopius at Padua, under Arantius at Bologna, under Eustachius at Rome, and under Rondelet at Montpellier. In the years 1573 and 1575 he published volumes containing a great number of original and important observations. They are the first books definitely devoted to comparative studies, and they place him very high among the great anatomical pioneers. Coiter’s main achievement, however, is a systematic account of the skeletons of a large variety of animals. These are well and accurately

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