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Zweite Auflage. - Stuttgart, Verlag der J.G. Cotta'schen Bhdlg., Paris, H. Sotheran, J. baewr & Comp., 1872, Imp.-Fol., (8). 46 pp. dtsch/franz. Text, 39 (13 doppel-) Lichtdrucktafeln mit 46 Fig., orig. Kassette; Inhalt frisch. THIS EDITION CAN BE REGARDED AS AN 'INCUNABULUM OF COLLOTYPE PRINTING'! Collotype printing was significantly developed by the Munich court photographer Joseph Albert (1825-1886) and the lithographer Max Gemoser between 1868 and 1870, enabling this flat printing process to reach industrial maturity. Albert named it after himself, 'Albertotypie', and the final term 'LICHTDRUCK' was coined by Gemoser in 1869 to emphasise the importance of light in the production of printing forms. Nikolaus Rüdinger (1832-1896) notes in the preface, it was cost considerations that led him to abandon the expensive 'photographic reproduction of the images,' 'to produce a cheaper second edition here with the help of Max Gemoser's new collotype process.' This process had the advantage of preserving all the subtleties of the original and ensuring that the images remained unchanged, 'which could not be achieved with the other reproduction methods available at the time.' The work in the present, very rare second edition is thus one of the first prints with which the practical suitability of photolithography in publishing could be tested - the decisive step from development to distribution. 'Phototype printing is considered the queen of printing techniques - a flat printing process that is little known and extremely rare today' (Museum of Printing Art in Leipzig). Apart from that, the work itself was also a major step forward in the field of medical illustration and documentation of the human anatomy of the nervous system: The anatomist and professor in Munich, Nikolaus Rüdinger, 'has earned lasting merit by introducing photographic reproductions of his excellent anatomical specimens, especially of the nervous system, and has raised the Munich anatomical collection to an exceptionally high standard', Hirsch/H. This work is the first photographic atlas of the peripheral nervous system and a pioneering work in medical photography. The first edition was published in 10 parts. Rüdinger commissioned court photographer Joseph Albert to take the photographs, which were made of human bodies in a frozen state. Regarding the collation of the plates (which could not be more confusing): The sheets designated as 'plates' (Nos. 1-23) are the individual explanatory sheets printed on both sides in parallel German and French text, while the illustrations are designated as 'Figurae' (I-XXXXVI); some of these are explained on several text plates, but may also be printed on several carrier plates (39, but without numbering), but there is also the reverse case, where several figurae printed on individual carriers are explained on one explanatory plate. In detail: Figurae VII-XI are printed together on one carrier and explained on plate 7, Fig. XV and XVI are described on plate 11, Fig. XVII-XIX on plate 12, Fig. XX and XXIII-XXV on plate 13 (Fig. XX and XXIV in one image), Fig. XXI and XII on plate 14, Fig. XXVI, XXVII, XXXII and XXIII on plate 15, fig. XXVIII and XXIX on plate 16, fig. XXX, XXXI, XXXVI and XXXVII on plate 17 (fig. XXXVI and XXXVII in one image), fig. XXXIV, XXXV and XXXVIII on plate 18, fig. XXXIX and XXXXIII on plate 19, fig. XXXX-XXXXII and XXXXIII-XXXXVI consecutively (with breaks) on plates 20-23 (fig. XXXX and XXXXI on one support). - This means that the work contains a total of 46 prints on 39 (uncounted) supports or picture plates. See: Meyer; Historical Aspects of Cerebral Anatomy pp 146 ff; Hirsch vol. IV; 913 914; Hans-Konrad Schmutz: Rüdingers "Atlas des peripherischen Nervensystems des menschlichen Körpers" mit Photographien von Joseph Albert. Gesnerus, 37/1-2 (1980): pp.84-90; Hirsch/Hubotter IV, 913. Handbook of Clinical Neurology, Bd. 95, 2009: History of Neurology, S. 302; Eder, History .
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