The Cervical Plexus, Antique Hirschfeld Anatomy Print, 1866

This antique anatomy print of the cervical plexus is an original 1866 hand colored lithograph from Hirschfeld and Leveille's Nevrologie atlas, published in Paris by G. Masson. It is plate 40 in the atlas. The plate shows two deep lateral dissections of the neck. In the first the head is turned and the neck muscles cut away to expose the cervical plexus and its branches descending to the shoulder; the second is carried deeper to the cervical vertebrae, the vertebral vessels and the nerve roots emerging between them.

The plate comes from the atlas to Ludovic Hirschfeld's Nevrologie et Esthesiologie, the second edition of his treatise and iconography of the human nervous system and the organs of sense, published in Paris by G. Masson in 1866. Every figure was drawn from life by J. B. Leveille directly from Hirschfeld's own dissections, printed as a lithograph by Lemercier of the rue de Seine, and colored by hand. Leveille's plates are among the most admired anatomical illustrations of the nineteenth century, exact enough to teach from and drawn with a restraint that keeps them beautiful rather than merely clinical.

As an antique anatomy print it rewards close looking, and it sits naturally in a collection of nineteenth century scientific illustration. A Hirschfeld lithograph of this kind would be well placed in a study, library or professional office, singly or as part of a series from the atlas.

This plate is in good condition for its age, with light age toning, scattered foxing and minor marks. The sheet also shows a noticeable brown spot in the upper-right margin, with slight edge wear and faint handling creases. The toning is consistent with age, and the images show further condition details.

This is an original antique plate, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.