Allegorical Title Page

Engraved Title Page

2nd Table, Appendix: Musculature of the body (Facing away)

3rd Table, Appendix: The Cardiovascular System

Published in 1698, the Anatomy of Humane Bodies brought great notoriety to William Cowper, both positive and negative. The anatomical atlas motivated a centuries long rise in interest in anatomical development in England that had been unheard of. Cowper purchased the 300 imprints of 105 copperplate engravings used in Govard Bidloo's atlas with the aid of his publisher, Samuel Smith, from the Dutch publishers to accompany his own analysis of human anatomy. Cowper commissioned 9 additional plates that details the musculature of the full body by Henry Cook, which were engraved by the Dutch engraver Michiel van der Gucht.

Because Cowper was unable to edit the original engravings, his new English title was printed and pasted over the original Dutch title of Ontleding des Menschelyken Lichaams on the allegorical title page.The remainder of the illustrations remain unchanged, aside from Cowper adding more reference letters in pen on each page.

Within Cowper’s preface he briefly references the authorship of the illustrations, stating that “these figures were drawn after the Life, by the Masterly Painter G. de Lairesse, and Engrav’d by no less a Hand, and Represent the Parts of Humane Bodies far beyond any Exstant; and were some time since Publish’d by Dr. Bidloo, now Professor of Anatomy in the University of Leyden.” The lack of credit given to Bidloo within the text initiated one of the largest copyright scandals in the seventeenth and eighteenth century. Bidloo and Cowper both published pamphlets accusing each other of plagiarising and stealing the illustrations, complementing their accusations with colourful and degrading language towards each other. Fortunately for Cowper, Bidloo's plea that he be expelled from the Royal Society was never answered, and he continued to successfully publish his medical work until his death in 1709.

Regardless of the results that came from the copyright scandal, Cowper's English text accompanying the images is wholly original, offering a great deal of research and insight into the body that proved extremely valuable for medical development in the eighteenth century.