The Essentials of Physiology

London: Henry Renshaw, 356 Strand, 1876. Second Edition, Enlarged, Improved, and Illustrated by One Hundred and Forty-One Wood Engravings. Hardcover. Good. Second Edition, Enlarged, Improved, and Illustrated by One Hundred and Forty-One Wood Engravings. Hardcover. 6 5/8" X 4 1/2". vx, 479 pp. Bound in publisher’s original brown cloth over boards, with spine lettered in gilt and blind-embossed diamond design to boards reading “Renshaw’s Manuals.” Moderate wear to binding, with small tears to bumped edges and corners, chipping and small tears to head and tail of spine and at spine edges, paper remnant to upper board, and cracked inner hinges reinforced (truncated) with archival adhesive. Binding remains sound. All edges red. Red and black printed title page. Occasional spot of foxing or soiling, else pages are clean and unmarked.

First published in 1860, the work is notable for its attempt to condense recent medical research—particularly in histology and anatomical structure—into an accessible form for students and medical candidates. This second and enlarged edition of this uncommon 19th-century British physiology manual was issued sixteen years later and contains substantial revisions and more than 140 woodcut illustrations, many newly added. The author draws extensively on the work of Valentin and Heinrich Frey and emphasizes a restrained, non-speculative approach to physiological science.

Additionally of note is the provenance, purchased from the collection of Anders Ericsson (1947-2020), “The Expert on Experts,” Florida State University cognitive psychologist, and globally recognized researcher in the field of performance studies and the psychological nature of expertise whose work Malcolm Gladwell popularized in his bestselling book Outliers. (Inventory #: 16870)