Cowper, William

large folio (586 x 330mm.), FIRST EDITION, mezzotint frontispiece, 2 engraved titles (first title with engraved slip with the English title pasted over the Dutch title in the cartouche), 114 engraved plates numbered 1-105 and 1-9 (2 folding), early nineteenth-century calf-backed boards, extracts from catalogues pasted to inside front cover, lacking 3 text leaves (*² and 3M2), frontispiece loose, spotting and darkening, minor offsetting from plates, some repairs to plates, binding somewhat worn

Norman 529; Wing C6698

Condition is described in the main body of the catalogue, where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

"Cowper obtained 300 impressions of the plates to Bidloo's Anatomia humani corporis and republished them under his own name with an expanded text, which included an "Introduction explaining the animal oeconomy", and an index. Cowper also added nine separately numbered plates in an "Appendix, representing the external muscles and divers parts of human bodies...", and pasted his title and his own name as author on a cancel slip over impressions of Bidloo's original engraved title. Bidloo resented Cowper's appropriation of his plates and attacked Cowper in his Guliemus Cowper, criminis literanii citatus (1700)" (Norman).