George Stubbs (1724-1806) The Anatomy of the Horse . London: J. Purser for the author, 1766. Oblong broadsheet (485 x 600mm). Errata slip bound at the rear. 24 etched plates by and after Stubbs, including 4 key plates. (a1 with about 30 words supplied in manuscript facsimile, title, a1 and Aa1 creased and reinforced on the blank versos, title and some text leaves and plates with skilfully-repaired, mainly marginal tears.) Half diced russia, bound to style using 18th-century leather and incorporating contemporary boards, the flat spine divided by gilt fillets into six compartments, lettered in gilt in the second (old scuffing to the boards). Provenance : Robt. Saltonstall (armorial bookplate, inscribed 'Pr. 5:5:0'). FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE, OF STUBBS' GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT AS AN ETCHER/ENGRAVER, A PIVOTAL WORK IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF HIS ARTISTIC CAREER, AN IMPORTANT SCIENTIFIC WORK AND ONE OF THE RELATIVLEY FEW BOOKS WHICH CAN BE SAID TO HAVE "REVOLUTIONISED MEN'S UNDERSTANDING OF THE NATURAL WORLD" (Lennox-Boyd). "Between 1756 and 1759, Stubbs lived... in a farmhouse at Horkstow in Lincolnshire... During this time he undertook the work that was to serve as the basis of The Anatomy of the Horse , dissecting 'a great number of horses' and making a series of fine detailed drawings, forty-two of which survive in the library of the Royal Academy. Stubbs's subsequent aproaches to engravers, including Charles Grignion the most experienced anatomical interpreter of the period, were unsuccessful however, since, as Humphry noted, 'the engravers... had been unaccustomed to such studies, and, not understanding them, were fearful of being bewildered and therefore they wished to decline undertaking the commisiion. This compell'd our artist to engage to engrave the whole of his designs himself..' This task occupied Stubbs for the next six years... The preparation of The Anatomy of the Horse marked a decisive stage in his career. Not only did preparation of the eighteen intricate plates, each with an accompanying key, offer ample opportunity for him to perfect his previously somewhat rudimentary engraving techniques, but, as he later maintained, The Anatomy of the Horse caused him henceforth to be regarded primarily as an animal painter, whereas his provincial reputation had been based on portraits. Publication proposals, which offered the work at 5 guineas [see the note on the bookplate of the present copy], or 4 guineas to subscribers, were issued in 1765, but it is certain that Stubbs's drawings had always been available for inspection by connoisseurs... Indded, the decision to solicit subscriptions for The Anatomy of the Horse was probably also partly influenced by considerations of incidental publicity... The work appeared in 1766, and remained the standard authority on its subject for nearly a century. It marked a major advance in the study of equine anatomy, and Gilbey, who calculated that out of forty-nine authors prior to George Stubbs only one, the seventeenth-century English farrier Andrew Snape, had produced a study that compared with the 'exhaustive description' of The Anatomy of the Horse , maintained that 'if he [Stubbs] had never painted a picture, [this] stands as his monument..' Although Stubbs's subscription proposals described The Anatomy of a Horse as intended for the use of anatomists, horse owners, and 'the more illiterate practitioners of the Veterinarian Art', its appearance had wider importance... [and can now be ranked] with Thomas Pennant's British Zoology (1770) and Gilbert White's Natural History of Selbourne (1789), among the most important of the several books of this time which, by emphasising the importance of precise and systematic observation, revolutionised men's understanding of the natural world." (Lennox-Boyd Stubbs ). The distinguishing feature of the first issue of this work is that both the text and plates are on laid paper, as Lennox-Boyd notes. The later issues, published after the supply
George Stubbs (1724-1806) The Anatomy of the Horse . London: J. Purser for the author, 1766. Oblong broadsheet (485 x 600mm). Errata slip bound at the rear. 24 etched plates by and after Stubbs, including 4 key plates. (a1 with about 30 words supplied in manuscript facsimile, title, a1 and Aa1 creased and reinforced on the blank versos, title and some text leaves and plates with skilfully-repaired, mainly marginal tears.) Half diced russia, bound to style using 18th-century leather and incorporating contemporary boards, the flat spine divided by gilt fillets into six compartments, lettered in gilt in the second (old scuffing to the boards). Provenance : Robt. Saltonstall (armorial bookplate, inscribed 'Pr. 5:5:0'). FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE, OF STUBBS' GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT AS AN ETCHER/ENGRAVER, A PIVOTAL WORK IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF HIS ARTISTIC CAREER, AN IMPORTANT SCIENTIFIC WORK AND ONE OF THE RELATIVLEY FEW BOOKS WHICH CAN BE SAID TO HAVE "REVOLUTIONISED MEN'S UNDERSTANDING OF THE NATURAL WORLD" (Lennox-Boyd). "Between 1756 and 1759, Stubbs lived... in a farmhouse at Horkstow in Lincolnshire... During this time he undertook the work that was to serve as the basis of The Anatomy of the Horse , dissecting 'a great number of horses' and making a series of fine detailed drawings, forty-two of which survive in the library of the Royal Academy. Stubbs's subsequent aproaches to engravers, including Charles Grignion the most experienced anatomical interpreter of the period, were unsuccessful however, since, as Humphry noted, 'the engravers... had been unaccustomed to such studies, and, not understanding them, were fearful of being bewildered and therefore they wished to decline undertaking the commisiion. This compell'd our artist to engage to engrave the whole of his designs himself..' This task occupied Stubbs for the next six years... The preparation of The Anatomy of the Horse marked a decisive stage in his career. Not only did preparation of the eighteen intricate plates, each with an accompanying key, offer ample opportunity for him to perfect his previously somewhat rudimentary engraving techniques, but, as he later maintained, The Anatomy of the Horse caused him henceforth to be regarded primarily as an animal painter, whereas his provincial reputation had been based on portraits. Publication proposals, which offered the work at 5 guineas [see the note on the bookplate of the present copy], or 4 guineas to subscribers, were issued in 1765, but it is certain that Stubbs's drawings had always been available for inspection by connoisseurs... Indded, the decision to solicit subscriptions for The Anatomy of the Horse was probably also partly influenced by considerations of incidental publicity... The work appeared in 1766, and remained the standard authority on its subject for nearly a century. It marked a major advance in the study of equine anatomy, and Gilbey, who calculated that out of forty-nine authors prior to George Stubbs only one, the seventeenth-century English farrier Andrew Snape, had produced a study that compared with the 'exhaustive description' of The Anatomy of the Horse , maintained that 'if he [Stubbs] had never painted a picture, [this] stands as his monument..' Although Stubbs's subscription proposals described The Anatomy of a Horse as intended for the use of anatomists, horse owners, and 'the more illiterate practitioners of the Veterinarian Art', its appearance had wider importance... [and can now be ranked] with Thomas Pennant's British Zoology (1770) and Gilbert White's Natural History of Selbourne (1789), among the most important of the several books of this time which, by emphasising the importance of precise and systematic observation, revolutionised men's understanding of the natural world." (Lennox-Boyd Stubbs ). The distinguishing feature of the first issue of this work is that both the text and plates are on laid paper, as Lennox-Boyd notes. The later issues, published after the supply
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