CASSERIO, Giulio (c. 1552–1616)

Casserio’s lifework, his Tabulæ, remained unpublished at his death in 1616. He was succeeded at the chair in Padua by his pupil Adriaan van den Spieghel, better known as Spigelius. Shortly before his death in 1625 Spigelius entrusted the editing of his greatest work, the De humani corporis fabrica, to a German physician, Daniel Rindfleisch, known as Bucretius. Since Spigelius’ work lacked illustrations Bucretius obtained from the heirs of Casserio 78 copperplates, which Casserio had made for his Theatrum. Bucretius added 20 others drawn by Odiardo Fialetti, a pupil of Tintoretto, and engraved by Francesco Valesio. Five of these were derived from Vesalius. The original Casserio plates are attributed to Joseph Maurer, a German artist who lived in Casserio’s house for the purpose of drawing anatomical illustrations. The famous Casserio plates were first published separately in folio in Venice 1627, accompanied by a page of explanatory text by Bucretius. The present 1632 edition of Casserio’s Tabulæ has 106 plates instead of 97 in the first folio edition (Venice 1627) and they are re-engraved copies of the plates in Spigelius' De humani corporis fabrica, all reduced to quarto size.

Collation: Pp 221, (3) blanks. Engraved title-leaf and 106 full page engravings. Lacks six leaves: K2-3 (pp 75-8), L2 (pp 83-4), R2-4 (pp 131-36) five of them with engravings. One leaf (D2) torn in upper outer corner with some loss of text.

Binding: Contemporary vellum.

Provenance: Crossed over signature inside front cover "Caspar Wendlandt me possidet. Anno 1665: die 19 Novembr: ..." and "Skänkt till Theatr. Anatomicum av Chr. And. Haggren 1810". The latter statement is confirmed in Hagströmer's Förteckning på de böcker, ... som tillhöra Theatrum Anatomicum ... i Stockholm, tryckt 1811, where it says "Gifven af Stud. ... Haggren".

References: Choulant/Frank, pp 223-28; Roberts and Tomlinson, pp 259-271; Hagelin, Rare and Important Medical Books in KI, pp 76-79 (Spigelius). Waller 1813.