The Making of Mr. Gray's Anatomy: Bodies Books Fortune Fame

About this book

When Grays Anatomy appeared in 1858 contemporaries immediately recognized that it was a departure from anything that had come before. Sales were brisk and the book rapidly became not just a bestseller but the standard work. Created by two young men in only two years in the mid-nineteenth century Grays Anatomy is the only textbook of human anatomy continuously in print for the last 150 years. Commemorating this remarkable anniversary The Making of Mr. Grays Anatomy tells the fascinating story of the origin of this groundbreaking book. Providing a wealth of historical context Dr. Ruth Richardson examines both the mid-Victorian medical world in which Henry Gray and the brilliant illustrator Henry Vandyke Carter operated and the vigorous publishing industry in London at that time. Along the way Richardson explores the scientific and cultural life of the medical school dissecting room and dead house as well as the lives of those whose corpses ended up on the slab. The very different personalities and life-stories of Gray and Carter emerge in the telling as do those of their publishers and the many other individuals who were involved in the making of the book itself. Indeed The Making of Mr. Grays Anatomy investigates the entire production process--from the books conception in 1855 to its reception by the medical press in 1858--via typesetters wood-engravers steam printers paper and printing-ink suppliers paper-folders stitchers and bookbinders. Here we encounter individuals motivated by money vanity altruism scientific discovery professional pride and the quest for faith and fame. Vividly written and painstakingly researched The Making of Mr. Grays Anatomy illuminates a vibrant human document one that has guided medical students for a century and a half.