The Olfactory Nerves and Optic Chiasm, Antique Hirschfeld Anatomy Print, 1866

This antique anatomy print of the olfactory nerves and optic chiasm is an original 1866 hand colored lithograph from Hirschfeld and Leveille's Nevrologie atlas, published in Paris by G. Masson. It is plate 25 in the atlas. The head is sectioned horizontally with the brain removed, showing the base of the cranial cavity, the orbital contents and optic nerves and the injected basilar artery. Paired sections of the nasal cavity show the olfactory nerve branches spreading over the mucosa, alongside enlarged views of the optic chiasm.

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 marginal staining. The sheet also shows small paper loss in the lower-left margin, with slight edge wear and corner creasing. 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.