Gray, Henry | First edition of Gray's Anatomy, a well-studied copy in a homemade yellow cloth jacket

Gray, Henry

Anatomy Descriptive and Surgical. London: John W. Parker and Son, 1858

8vo (250 x 158 mm). In text illustrations after drawings by H. V. Carter, early 20th century ownership signature, "Harmar," to title, various laid in materials from the owner's medical school days, including a pamphlet on fibrosis, one typed and three printed University of Birmingham medical examination slips, and autograph notes and drawings; an extremely well-read copy, with some light toning, spots and stains, over-opened, various gatherings, including all from 2A to 2L, shaken, a few loose leaves, lacking the front endpapers. Publisher's cloth, charmingly stitched by an early owner into a waxed yellow cloth jacket, with manuscript title on the front cover and spine; the jacket and the binding are both soiled and worn.

First edition of Gray's Anatomy, the most famous of all modern anatomy textbooks.

This copy was extensively read and studied by early medical students, including Dr. Harmar whose last name is on the titlepage and who's wife or mother's name appears in the laid-in ephemera. After reading the book nearly to death, he seems to have performed a kind of surgery on it, stitching his useful, beloved textbook into a homemade yellow cloth jacket.

PROVENANCE

Dr. Denys Macdonald Harmar (English-born doctor who trained at Birmingham University, before moving to Canada and the United States; ownership mark on title) — by descent to the present owners