Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 724

WILLIAM COWPER (1666-1709) The anatomy of humane bodies. Printed for Joh. Arn. Langerak 1737 2nd ed. [134] pp., 114 plates (part fold.). 52 cm.

For more information on this author or work, see number: 722

With this work, first published in English in 1698, Cowper provided one of the better-known stories of theft in medical history. Of the 114 plates in this collection, only nine were original with Cowper. All of the others were the work of Bidloo and were published in his Anatomia humani corporis in 1685 (see No. 667). Cowper obtained three hundred sets of Bidloo's plates, pasted his own name over that of Bidloo on the title page, made a few corrections in ink, added nine plates of his own, translated the text into English, and published the whole under his own name. Bidloo, naturally incensed over this plagiarism, arraigned Cowper before the Royal Society, and the two engaged in an exchange of polemical writings (see No. 727). This edition was revised by Christian Bernhard Albinus (1696-1752).

See Related Record(s): 667 727 723.9

Cited references: Choulant-Frank, pp. 252-253; Russell 212; Waller 2192; Wellcome II, p. 401

Gift of John Martin, M.D.