Skip to main content
Lot 65

STUBBS (GEORGE)
The Anatomy of the Horse, FIRST EDITION, J. Purser, 1766 [but plates watermarked 1815]

4 December 2019, 11:00 GMT
London, Knightsbridge

Sold for £1,912.50 inc. premium

Own a similar item?

Submit your item online for a free auction estimate.

How to sell

Looking for a similar item?

Our Books & Manuscripts specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.

Find your local specialist

Ask about this lot

STUBBS (GEORGE)

The Anatomy of the Horse, FIRST EDITION, later issue, 24 engraved plates printed on wove paper (one keyplate with several tears repaired some loss to margins, 7 others with short, mostly marginal, tears repaired, 2 just touching printed area, loss to blank margin of a few), without the errata slip, several leaves of text with short repairs and marginal trace of worming, modern half morocco, reusing original marbled boards, printed label "Stubbs' Anatomy of the Horse. £4 4s. 0d." on upper cover [Garrison and Morton 308.1; Nissen ZBI 4027; Podeschi 57], oblong folio (425 x 555mm.), J. Purser, 1766 [but plates watermarked 1815]

Footnotes

Stubbs executed the drawings for The Anatomy between 1756 and 1759, during which time he undertook numerous detailed dissections of horses. Subsequently he engraved these himself, producing the sequence of plates which combined perfect "scientific exactitude with a harmonious beauty of placing and balance" (R.T. Godfrey, Printmaking in Britain, 1978). They depict views of the skeleton of the horse from the side, front, and back, followed by views from similar angles of different stages of dissection. On the back of the work's success Stubbs established himself as the most successful animal artist of his day. First published in 1766, the work retained its importance, copies found with plates watermarked with dates from 1798 to 1827.

Provenance: "J. Ferneley, Melton Mowbray", pencil inscription inside upper cover, presumably the sporting painter John Ferneley (1782-1860).

Additional information

Bid now on these items

Johnston, Robert Travels Through Part of the Russian Empire and the Country of Poland, first edition, London: Printed for J.J. Stockdale, 1815.

VIKING1 LANDER & ORBITER: 12 PHOTOGRAPHS 11 black and white and one (1) chromogenic color print, each 20 x 25 cm (8 x 10 inches), as follows:

APOLLO 9: 3 PHOTOGRAPHS OF APOLLO/SATURN V SPACE VEHICLE ON THE LAUNCHPAD

APOLLO 9: 4 PHOTOGRAPHS OF LUNAR MODULE SPIDER & EARTH VIEWS

APOLLO 12: 4 PHOTOGRAPHS OF APOLLO/SATURN ON THE LAUNCHPAD

APOLLO 14: 5 PHOTOGRAPHS OF LUNAR SURFACE, PREPARATIONS FOR LAUNCH

APOLLO 15: 3 PHOTOGRAPHS OF SIM MODEL, LAUNCH, AND LUNAR ROVING VEHICLE DURING EVA

APOLLO 16: EVA PANORAMA Large format chromogenic color photograph printed on fiber-based photographic paper with "A Kodak Paper" water mark, 36 x 28 cm (14 x 11 inches),

GEMINI I: GEMINI-TITAN II LAUNCH Large format chromogenic color photograph printed on fiber-based photographic paper with "A Kodak Paper" water mark, 36 x 28 cm (14 x 11 inches),

GEMINI V: GEMINI-TITAN V LIFTS OFF FROM LAUNCH COMPLEX 19 Large format chromogenic color photograph printed on fiber-based photographic paper with "A Kodak Paper" water mark, 36 x 28 cm (14 x 11 inches),

EARLY U.S. SPACE PROGRAM: 7 PHOTOGRAPHS OF LAUNCHES, 1958-1963 7 black-and-white photographs, each 20 x 25 cm (8 x 10 inches), as follows:

MERCURY-ATLAS 2: LAUNCH, FEBRUARY 21, 1961 Large format chromogenic color photograph printed on fiber-based photographic paper with "A Kodak Paper" water mark, 36 x 28 cm (14 x 11 inches),

MERCURY-ATLAS 6: LAUNCH OF FIRST CREWD AMERICAN ORBITAL SPACEFLIGHT Large format chromogenic color photograph printed on fiber-based photographic paper with "A Kodak Paper" water mark, 36 x 28 cm (14 x 11 inches),

PROJECT MERCURY: 9 PHOTOGRAPHS OF PREPARATION, LAUNCH, AND RECOVERY

APPLE COMPUTER, INC. THINK DIFFERENT: MAHATMA GANDHI. Printed vinyl banner with metal rail, 1562 x 692 mm, [Cupertino, c.1997/1998], the recto featuring an image of Mahatma Gandhi, the verso featuring "Apple" in white letters against a red ground.