Fort - Anatomie - 1875

LA SCIENCE UNDER THE SCALPEL: THE MANUAL THAT SHAPED GENERATIONS OF FRENCH DOCTORS
Important French anatomical manual from the second half of the nineteenth century, by Jean-Alfred Fort, one of the most renowned anatomists and surgeons of the era. Conceived as a practical tool for medical students and candidates for university exams, the volume represents a modern synthesis of anatomical knowledge developed in post-Napoleonic France. Richly illustrated with 151 figures in the text, the manual combines anatomical description, histology, embryology and topographic anatomy, reflecting the transition from traditional descriptive medicine to the modern scientific medicine grounded in direct observation and dissection. A work that bears witness to the golden age of the Paris medical school, then regarded as the world center of anatomical teaching.
MARKET VALUE
Fort’s eighteenth-century anatomy works remain sought after by historians of medicine and collectors of French scientific texts. Copies of the 1875 second edition are generally found in a price range between 100 and 200 euros, with higher values for particularly fresh copies, free of annotations and preserved in their original publishing bindings. Copies showing academic usage, while still of historical interest, tend to sit at the lower end of the market.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Half red leather binding with marbled corners and boards, back with raised bands and gold-impressed title. Typographic title page. Second edition of Résumé d'Anatomie, revised, corrected and enlarged. Illustrated with 151 wood-engraved figures in the text. Example with signs of use, handwritten annotations, some marginal tears. In old books, with a long history, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pp. (4); 2nn; 824; (2).

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Manuel d'Anatomie.
Paris, Adrien Delahaye, 1875.
Jean-Alfred Fort.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
The Manuel d'Anatomie arises in the midst of the development of French scientific medicine, when anatomy constituted the indispensable foundation of medical training. The work is conceived as a practical manual intended for students preparing for doctoral exams and hospital competitions, offering a updated synthesis of the anatomical knowledge of the time. Notably significant is the volume’s structure, which integrates general anatomy, histology, descriptive anatomy, myology, arthrology, angiologia, neurology, and embryology elements. The numerous figures allowed students to visualize complex anatomical structures without continually turning to the large specialist atlases. The work also reflects the influence of the Paris medical school, which in the nineteenth century revolutionized medical teaching through clinical observation and the correlation between anatomy and pathology. In this context Fort’s manual represents an essential teaching tool for understanding how European doctors were trained on the eve of Pasteur’s major bacteriological discoveries.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Jean-Alfred Fort (1831-1893) was one of the most important French surgeons and anatomists of the nineteenth century. Professor at the Faculty of Medicine in Paris, he contributed significantly to the teaching of anatomy and surgery. Author of numerous treatises and manuals, he was particularly appreciated for his ability to make complex subjects accessible to students. His works enjoyed wide diffusion in French and international medical schools.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
Published by the medical publisher Adrien Delahaye, one of the leading scientific publishers in nineteenth-century Paris, Manuel d'Anatomie went through several reprintings thanks to its success in the university environment. This second edition of 1875 presents updates and enlargements compared to the original version, a sign of the ongoing evolution of anatomical knowledge and the strong demand from medical students.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
WorldCat, Manuel d'Anatomie, éditions de 1875 et suivantes.
Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF), Catalogue Général, Jean-Alfred Fort.
Wellcome Collection, Historical Medical Books Collection.
National Library of Medicine (NLM), historical anatomy catalogs of the 19th century.
Waller, History of Medical Education in France.
Dictionnaire des Médecins Français du XIXe siècle, entry "Fort, Jean-Alfred".
ICCU / OPAC SBN, censimenti delle edizioni francesi conservate in Italia.
Catalogue Collectif de France (CCFr), bibliographic records of the Delahaye edition.
Garrison-Morton, Medical Bibliography, sections dedicated to eighteenth/nineteenth-century anatomical teaching.
Université Paris Cité, Archives historiques de la Faculté de Médecine.