The Orbit and the Ophthalmic Nerve, Antique Hirschfeld Anatomy Print, 1866

This antique anatomy print of the orbit and the ophthalmic nerve is an original 1866 hand colored lithograph from Hirschfeld and Leveille's Nevrologie atlas, published in Paris by G. Masson. It is plate 26 in the atlas. The plate shows the orbit opened from above with the extrinsic eye muscles and the branches of the ophthalmic nerve, an isolated globe with its muscles and nerves, sagittal sections of the nasal cavity and its nerve supply, and a lateral face with the superficial muscles and fine nerve branches exposed.

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.

For collectors of medical and scientific prints, this antique anatomy print joins precise observation with careful hand color. A single Hirschfeld plate makes a quietly striking picture for a study, library or consulting room, and several plates from the same atlas hang well together as a group.

This plate is in good condition for its age, with light age toning, scattered foxing and minor marginal staining. The sheet also shows surface soiling and a small crease along the top edge, with slight edge wear. 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.