Long Probes and Anatomical Specimens, Diderot Chirurgie Plate V, circa 1772
€ 210
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
circa 1772
Mapmaker / artist
Not named on the sheet
Publisher
Giuseppe Aubert, Livorno
Technique
Copper Engraving
Coloring
Uncolored
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-13259-6
What the condition grades mean
Excellent
Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
Very good
Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
Good
Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
Fair
Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.
Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.
Condition
Light uneven toning, browner toward the edges. Handling soiling along the top edge. A few small foxing spots in the margin. Slight wear at the bottom left and top right corners. Minor edge wear, shallow nicks along the left.
About this sheet
An original antique copper engraving, uncolored, in five numbered figures. Down the left run three very long slender instruments: a twisted shaft with a rough rounded knob at its tip, set in a turned and faceted wooden handle (Fig. 1), a smooth rod ending in a cluster of small wire loops (Fig. 2), and a twisted wire with a single small loop at its end (Fig. 3). At the right are two anatomical specimens. The upper one is a large rounded mass opened lengthwise to show a cavity lined with transverse folds and a stippled area at its floor, seated on a branching base cut through at its four ends, the cut faces drawn in section, with short rounded stubs hanging below (Fig. 4). The lower one is a sac opened out with lobed, irregular edges, a smooth fold lying inside it, and above it a coiled mass of looped tissue gathered by a fine thread (Fig. 5).
The plate number "Pl. V." is lettered at the top right outside the border, the section title "Chirurgie." is centered below the border, and the page number "66." is at the lower left. No engraver's signature is lettered at the lower right or anywhere else on the plate.
The plate belongs to the Chirurgie section of the Recueil de planches, the volumes of engraved plates that accompanied the Encyclopédie edited by Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d'Alembert. It comes from the Livorno edition published by Giuseppe Aubert, whose plate volumes appeared between 1771 and 1778. The Chirurgie plates set out surgical instruments, bandages and apparatus and show operations, with the figures numbered and keyed to an explanation printed in the text volume.
The sculptural shading of the specimens makes this a striking plate for a medical or natural history collection.
Condition: Light uneven toning, browner toward the edges. Handling soiling along the top edge. A few small foxing spots in the margin. Slight wear at the bottom left and top right corners. Minor edge wear, shallow nicks along the left.
This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed.
