sanctum. “Dr. Schneider? Welcome to the Wellcome Archives. How ’bout
having a look at De fabrica?”
I take a seat, realizing he has done his own homework, investigating me
online and ensuring that I am not some imposter who will come to the holy
of holies and disrespect these inestimably valuable tomes. Ross reappears,
carrying a massive 16-by-11-inch rich green book. I am gobsmacked by its
size—it’s really true—it’s a beast of a book. The lustrous green leather
exterior must certainly be less than a hundred years old, and I instantly
wonder what the original binding looked like. The book is set down on the
archive table, and before opening it, a religious rite of sorts takes place,
of purification, solemnity, and homage. As Ross and I have not
encountered a rare book together before, I sense he wants to ensure that I
will appropriately care for this treasure. There are only about one
hundred De fabrica copies in the world, and this one is in pristine
condition.
De fabrica lies next to me, unopened. Ross and I start to build a small
mountain of foam blocks and white canvas bean bags. The goal with
archival books is gentle handling of individual sheets of paper, assiduous
care of the spine, minimal handling, and no accidents. Again and again,
Ross places the book in the center of the angled black foam wedges and
starts to let the book naturally fall open. Still sensing not enough support
on the right side, the librarian adds another bean bag to the wedge. After
several minutes of tinkering and adjusting, the book is ready for
inspection.
Staring at a page, I am struck by faint, colored lines that delineate the
margins. They appear hand drawn, and are on almost every page. The
particular book in my hands is from the original 1543 publication run,
meaning that Vesalius himself may have handled this book. The four-
hundred-year-old paper is in wonderful condition, with no foxing and no
edge wear.
I want to see one of the large illustrations, and turning to the back half
of the book, I see a folded sheet. Shocked, I see that this is an extra-large
sheet of paper that is completely filled with a detailed illustration of veins
and arteries of the body. I unfold it partway, and then again along the
bottom. Considering that this diagram of veins and arteries to the entire
body came from one wood carving is stunning. There are scores of letters
marcin
(Marcin)
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