REMMELIN, Johann (1583-1632) - photo 1
REMMELIN, Johann (1583-1632) - photo 2
REMMELIN, Johann (1583-1632) - photo 3
REMMELIN, Johann (1583-1632) - photo 4
REMMELIN, Johann (1583-1632) - photo 5
REMMELIN, Johann (1583-1632) - photo 6
REMMELIN, Johann (1583-1632) - photo 7

REMMELIN, Johann (1583-1632)

Lot 183
10.12.2025 12:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Pour enchérir, allez sur le site
CHRISTIE'S
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Lieu de l'événementRoyaume-Uni, London
Commissionsee on Website%
ID 1514385
Lot 183 | REMMELIN, Johann (1583-1632)
Valeur estimée
£ 15 000 – 20 000
REMMELIN, Johann (1583-1632)
A survey of the microcosme. Or the anatomie of the bodies of man and woman wherein the skin, veins, nerves, muscles, bones, sinews and ligaments thereof are accurately delineated, and so disposed by pasting, as that each part of the said bodies both inward and outward are exactly represented. Translated by John Ireton. London: Joseph Moxon, 1675.
A superb hand-coloured copy of a celebrated Restoration-era ‘pop-up’ anatomy: containing a unique presentation leaf to the English actress and mistress of King Charles II, Nell Gwyn. Of the 6 copies of this edition we are able to trace – including the copy gifted to the dedicatee Samuel Pepys, now at Madgdalen College, Cambridge – the present copy appears to be the only example with coloured plates. We are not aware of any book belonging to Gwyn ever previously appearing on the market.

Upon its original publication in Latin in 1613, Remmelin’s Catoptrum Microcosmicum became the first anatomical atlas to systematically use flaps to illustrate the subcutaneous layers and internal organs of the human body. In a rudimentary fashion this had been done once or twice before in printed books and on various occasions in loose-leaf prints: Vesalius in his De humani corporis fabrica (1543), for instance, had printed one leaf of anatomical details that the reader might cut out and mount on an adjoining woodcut. But Remmelin’s plates were far more elegantly constructed, ingeniously containing numerous flaps which could be lifted to expose layer upon layer of male and female bodies. Such was the wide appeal of Remmelin’s novel ‘pop-up’ approach, which ‘bridged the divide between academic and “popular” anatomy’ (Buckley), that his text was subsequently translated for editions in Dutch, English, French, German, possibly Italian and, more recently, Japanese.

The present copy is an example of the second English edition (the first with this title), following a 1670 edition titled An exact survey of the microcosmus, also published by Moxon and known in only two copies (Wellcome and Oxford). Uniquely, this copy contains a printed presentation leaf, with a further 9-word inscription presumably in Moxon's hand, to the famed actress Eleanor ‘Nell’ Gwyn. The phrasing of Moxon’s address to Gwyn, in a book concerned with the finer details of the human body, appears to be a playful nod to the view that she was ‘a woman who was not shy in the public demonstration of her own frame and disposition’ (Egan): ‘To the most Excellent Lady Maddam Ellen Gwyn […] In this book of Anatomy […] our Authour has lively represented us to our Selves; and so contrived this Epitomy of Man and Woman that from the Skin to the Bone we may see the true shape and disposition of our frame and composition […] Thus Maddam, presuming this peece of curiosity may be acceptable to a Lady so wel accomplisht and so excellently Ingenious as your Self, I present this to your fair hands’. It is a book that brings together by association some of the most interesting characters of the Restoration period: from its publisher Joseph Moxon, hydrographer to Charles II and the first tradesman to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, to its formal dedicatee Samuel Pepys, to the recipient of this particular copy, whom Pepys referred to as ‘pretty, witty Nell’. Owing to the uncertainty of collation relating to the engraved flaps, this lot is sold not subject to return.

ESTC R232301; NLM/Krivatsky 9555; Russell, British Anatomy, 694: ‘the RSM copy is most interesting’; Buckley, C. ‘Johann Remmelin’s Catoptrum Microcosmicum and the End of an Era’, The Bodleian Library Record, vol. 26, Issue 1 (2013); Cregan, K. ‘Edward Ravenscroft’s “The Anatomist” and the “Tyburn Riots Against the Surgeons”’, Restoration: Studies in English Literary Culture, 1660-1700, vol. 32, no. 1 (2008).

Folio (397 x 300mm). Letterpress title and presentation leaf with an additional 9 words in manuscript, engraved plate of two figures showing superficial veins, 3 engraved plates [‘Visio prima’; ‘secunda’; ‘tertia’] with very many superimposed engraved flaps and moveable parts illustrating successive layers of human anatomy, some engraved on both sides, ‘prima’ depicting male and female figures standing atop plinths beside the abdomen of a pregnant woman, the right-hand plinth bearing a Latin dedication from the publisher to Samuel Pepys, ‘secunda’ depicting a male subject and ‘tertia’ a female, all surrounded by illustrations of various bodily organs, each plate partly coloured by a contemporary hand, one leaf of explanatory text for ‘prima’, two pages of explanatory for ‘secunda’ and ‘tertia’ on the versos of plates ‘prima’ and ‘secunda’ respectively (a few short repaired marginal tears, some longer repaired tears into printed area on leaf of explanatory text for ‘Visio prima’, some margins slightly frayed, female figure on ‘Visio tertia’ somewhat oxidised, a few minor areas of staining). Contemporary English dark brown goatskin over pasteboard, covers gilt-panelled with fillets and a floral roll, gilt fleurons (somewhat rubbed, heavier at corners and lower fore-edge, rebacked, upper board detached).

Provenance: Nell Gwyn (1650-1687; additional printed presentation leaf with inscription, presumably in autograph, from the publisher Joseph Moxon) – Dr. John Webster FRS (1795–1876, Scottish physician renowned for his extensive work in public health and institutional reform across Europe. Educated in Edinburgh, London, Paris, Pavia, and Berlin, he earned his MD in 1820, became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in 1843, and was closely associated with the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society; ink inscription on endpaper dated 6 January 1842 recording gift of the volume to:) – Royal Society of Medicine (ink stamps [Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society]).
Lieu d'origine:Europe du Nord, Europe, Royaume-Uni
Catégorie maison de vente aux enchères:Médecine et sciences, Livres et manuscrits, Livres imprimés
Adresse de l'enchère CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
Royaume-Uni
Aperçu
10.12.2025 – 10.12.2025
Téléphone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
E-mail
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Commission see on Website
Conditions d'utilisationConditions d'utilisation

Termes connexes

Questions fréquemment posées

Pour participer aux ventes aux enchères, vous devez d’abord, vous inscrire. Après la confirmation de l’adresse e-mail, complétez votre profil d’utilisateur en fournissant des renseignements personnels tels que votre prénom, nom de famille et l’adresse postale. Choisissez un lot qui vous intéresse et indiquez le montant maximum que vous voulez offir pour ce lot. Dès que vous confirmez votre choix, nous transférerons votre demande par voie électronique à la maison de ventes aux enchères appropriée. Si votre demande est acceptée, votre offre va participer aux ventes aux enchères. Vous pouvez vérifier le statut actuel de votre offre en tout temps dans votre cabinet personnel VIL sous l’onglet «Vos offres».
Les enchères sont réalisées par les maisons de ventes et chacune des maisons de ventes décrit ses conditions de vente. Vous pouvez voir les textes dans la rubrique «Information sur les ventes».
Les résultats des ventes aux enchères sont publiés dans quelques jours après la clôture de l’enchère. En haut de la page du site web VIL, vous trouverez l’onglet «Enchères». Cliquez sur cet onglet et naviguez vers la page des catalogues de ventes aux enchères où vous trouverez facilement l’onglet « Résultats des ventes ». Sur cet onglet, sélectionnez l’enchère qui vous intéresse et consultez l’état de vente du lot de votre choix.
Les informations sur les gagnants des enchères sont confidentielles. Le gagnant de l'enchère recevra une notification directe de la maison d'enchères responsable avec des instructions pour les mesures à prendre: une facture de paiement et la manière dont les marchandises ont été reçues.
Chacune de maisons de ventes aux enchères adhère à sa propre politique concernant les modes de paiement des lots remportés. Toutes les maisons de ventes aux enchères acceptent les virements bancaires; la plupart d’elles acceptent les paiements par carte de crédit. Dans un avenir très proche, vous trouverez des renseignements détaillés sous la rubrique «Information sur les ventes», à la page du catalogue et du lot.
Le mode de livraison du lot dépend de sa taille et ses dimensions. Les petits articles peuvent être livrés par la poste. Les objets plus grands sont expédiés par courrier. Les préposés à la livraison des maisons de ventes aux enchères vous proposeront différentes options selon votre cas.
Non. Les archives servent de référence pour l'étude des prix des enchères, des photographies et des descriptions d'œuvres d'art.