Allegorical Title Page

Engraved Title Page

67th Table: Dissection of the Forearm

Govard Bidloo translated his 1685 edition of Anatomia Humani Corporis into Dutch, five years after its original publication, and released a Dutch edition of the atlas. Perhaps due to the popularity of the Latin edition, or the desire for an atlas in the Dutch vernacular, Bidloo was motivated to publish the atlas again. The new Dutch edition featured a new dedication, replacing the dedication to Henry Casimir II, a poem about Bidloo's work written by Peter Verhoek, and the proceedings from a lecture held on March 11th, 1688 in the Engelsche Kerk, a church in the Hague, and a new Dutch engraved title page. The title displayed within the shield on the Allegorical title page was erased and re-engraved with the new Dutch title Ontleding des Menschelyken Lichaams.

K.B. Roberts, J.D.W. Tomlinson, Fenwick Beekman, and other notable persons who have studied the atlas argue that the Dutch edition sold poorly, thus the publishers sold 300 imprints of the engravings to the publishers of William Cowper to recuperate their losses.

There are a variety of theories that could explain why the Dutch atlas did not sell well. The atlas was likely too expensive and impractical in size, as it was the largest and arguably most ambitious anatomical treatise published since Andreas Vesalius' De Humani Corporis Fabrica (1543). Its reception among medical professionals, most notably Bidloo's teacher, Frederik Ruysch was widely negative. Ruysch heavily criticized Bidloo's atlas for the anatomical inaccuracies that plagued many of the illustrations, likely a result of poor arrangements in collaboration between the artist de Lairesse and the anatomist Bidloo. Bidloo's lack of presence in Amsterdam, because of his duties to King William III, the civil and military hospitals in Holland, and the Hague meant that he was not present in the academic circles that would study the text. Finally, the Dutch edition of Anatomia had little more to offer than the original Latin edition, aside from the proceedings of a lecture that Bidloo taught in 1688. The lack of development, Bidloo's absence, Ruysch's strong criticism, and the atlas's expensive price likely dissuaded many prospective sales.