Musée d’anatomie pathologique [et] Bibliothèque de medicine et de chirurgie pratiques, (with) Anatomie pathologique avec modèles en relief

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  • Paris: the Author, 1844
By THIBERT, Félix
Paris: the Author, 1844. FIRST EDITIONS. Double-page lithographed plate. Original printed wrappers bound into modern boards, unopened. Presentation inscription from the author to a Doctor Roser on the front wrapper. Somewhat foxed, otherwise very good. [With:]

Anatomie pathologique avec modèles en relief. Paris: the Author 1839.

8vo. xi, 123, [1] pp. Contemporary brown sheep-backed marbled boards. Bound with an incomplete copy of the first title listed.

First editions of two texts establishing and cataloging the morbid anatomy cabinet of Félix Thibert. Thibert, a Paris-trained physician, began designing and making pathological models of ailments in the 1830s for the use of other clinicians. They were cast in a paste that hardened to stone-like durability and then painted to mirror the afflicted organ. Thibert’s subjects were usually deceased. In 1844, he opened a “museum” in the Rue Montparnasse showcasing over 2000 of his models of organs and body parts for the use of the clinical community. The first title comprises the inventory of this showroom, classified according to malady: diseases of the skin, eyes, and uterus, syphilitic sores, lesions on internal organs, lesions on external organs, and glanders. He also offered to duplicate any of the models in the museum for a price, listed in a catalog at the end of the book.
In his self-published “Anatomie pathologique avec modèles en relief,” Thibert provides case studies of post-mortem examinations, dissections, and subsequent modeling of clinically interesting subjects, including a cancerous tumor, gangrenous colon, cyanide poisoning, and compound fractures. Before the text, he invites medical professionals to his home to view the models during specific hours, and he concludes the book with a catalog of 20 pieces available to order. In each study he describes the piece he created from the ailment, but this book includes no illustrations. We may assume that the cost of publication prohibited the addition of images, especially since Thibert was still showcasing his models in his own home and offering duplicates for sale.
It is worth noting that Thibert’s museum received considerable commendation from the Parisian community, such that in 1845 he opened a second showroom in London.
Maerker, “Anatomical Preparations and Mimetic Expertise” in The Matter of Mimesis, ed Bol and Spary, pp. 260-261.

Details

Title

Musée d’anatomie pathologique [et] Bibliothèque de medicine et de chirurgie pratiques, (with) Anatomie pathologique avec modèles en relief

Author

THIBERT, Félix

Condition

Unknown

Publisher

the Author: Paris

Date

1844

Edition

FIRST EDITIONS


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