Bartolomeo Eustachi and Bernardi Siegfried Albini, 1744
Bartolomeo Eustache (1520-1574) was a revered physician in Rome and one of the greatest anatomists of the High Renaissance. Known for giving name to the Eustachian tube, he drew anatomic types based on the study of many different cadavers with great interest in portraying accurate proportions. The plates he illustrated remained unpublished until 1714, when they were found in the Vatican Library and presented by Pope Clement XI to his personal physician Giovanni Maria Lancisi. Lancisi then published his own text using Eustache’s plates. Noted anatomist Bernardi Siegfried Albini (1687-1770) added his own commentary to Eustache’s drawings in Explicatio tabularum anatomicarum, which also contained new cooper engravings by the Dutch artist Jan Wandelaar.
Assessment
Damage from dampness and/or mildew has weakened the first several pages, tightback leather binding sewn on cords, front and back board are detached/very loose. Recommendation: send damaged pages to paper conservator for washing, repair, tacket boards as for Cowper.