A rare glimpse into the dissection room. An unusual collection of eighty-seven direct anatomical studies, many on paper watermarked between 1814 and 1838, and some with early nineteenth-century stationer's stamps from Bath and Gloucester. Drawings of this type are rare; in the past decade we have only handled one small notebook of similar images.

The majority of these illustrations were produced at the dissecting table, almost certainly by medical students (though artists studying anatomy could also be represented). They are in multiple hands with different levels of skill, and it is unclear if they were gathered together at the time they were made, or by a later collector. The illustrations depict cadavers in various states of dismemberment (with a few of the drawings in series), some of which have been positioned with hooks, string, or rope, and in one case an instrument propping up a foot. Individual body parts and internal organs including the heart, liver, appendix, brain, ear, and mouth, are represented, and there are also studies of organ systems such as the muscles and nerves over larger areas of the body. Two drawings depict a fracture and dislocation of the shoulder bones from different angles, one depicts what may be a venereal disease in vibrant red, and another shows examples of wound care with bandages. A small number might have been done from prepared specimens, in particular some of the images of bones. And a few could have been life drawings focusing on muscles; two of the illustrations use a statue of the god Hermes to identify muscle groups and body parts. Some of the drawings include hand-written identification keys, but most are blank and none are signed.

The dated illustrations in this collection were made at a time when the development of medical education in England led to heightened demand for cadavers. For much of the early modern era the only bodies available were those of executed criminals, but the need for corpses outstripped supply and body snatching became a serious problem during the 18th century. By the beginning of the nineteenth century, 'Many surgeons were required by the army and navy for the Napoleonic wars in the first two decades of the century, and private medical schools reached their zenith in the third decade with at least 10 founded outside London between 1824 and 1834... In 1828 the Report from the Select Committee on Anatomy suggested that there were around 800 students at medical schools in London, of whom around 500 practised dissection (Bailey, 1896). There were apparently around 450–500 corpses available to them each year, so clearly a significant demand' (Mitchell, et al, 'The Study of Anatomy in England from 1700 to the Early 20th Century', Journal of Anatomy, August 2011). The 1832 Anatomy Act made available unclaimed bodies from workhouses and hospitals, thereby discouraging theft but unevenly impacting the poor and further reducing trust in the medical establishment.

87 individual drawings on loose sheets of various paper stocks and sizes, some watermarked or with stationer's blind stamps. Mainly pencil, some pen and ink wash, a few with coloured or highlighted portions.