FIRST EDITION OF THE FIRST COMPLETE WORK ON THE ANATOMY OF THE EYE

ZINN, JOHANNES GOTTFRIED. Descriptio anatomica oculi humani iconibus illustrata […] Gottingae, Apud Viduam B. Abrami Vandenhoeck, MDCCLV [Gottingen, the Widow of Abraham Vandenhoeck, 1755].

4to (224x175 mm), full roan calf binding, five raised bands spine with gilt decorations and letterings to compartments, gilt dentelles, red edges, marbled fly-leaves, ff. [8], pp. 272 and 7 folding plates engraved in copper. Roman type, text in Latin.

7 FOLDING LEAVES WITH COPPER-PLATED illustrations engraved by J. P. Kaltenhofer representing the anatomy of the eye and of the optic nerve.

FIRST EDITION OF THE FIRST COMPLETE WORK OF ANATOMY OF THE EYE IN WORLD LITERATURE.

A fundamental work in the history of ophthalmology: it includes the first description of the zonula of Zinn and the annulus of Zinn. The illustrations in this book marked a new plateau in the graphic representation of the eye for it became, in the modern sense, recognizable both in situ in the orbit and enucleated.

JOHANN GOTTFRIED ZINN (1727-1759) was one of Albrecht von Haller’s favorite pupils at Göttingen. He became professor of medicine and director of the botanical gardens of the town. Due to his fame as a great botanist, Linneus in his classification gave the name Zinnia to the family of composite<lowers to commemorate his name. Regretably he died at the young age of 32 years.

His book is based on his own observations. Zinn mentions the ciliary body and gives detailed descriptions of the iris for the first time. He showed that the numbers of fiber, bundles in the optic nerve is constant and continuous with those in retina.

REFERENCES: ADB 45, 336; Becker 426; Blake 499; G.M. 1484; Gorin, 60-61; Heirs of Hippocrates, 607; Hirsch-H. 5, 1046; Hirschberg 14.1, 470-477; Münchow, 329; Osler 4298 (1780 edition); Waller 10493.

Uniform foxing due to the quality of the paper, two small tears at the plates’ connections to the binding, but overall a very good copy.