JF Ptak Science Books Quick Post
I wrote earlier this month about the fantastic Leonardo-esque anatomy work by the prodigious William Rimmer (here)–I’m drawn back to him tonight after having stumbled upon a very unusual and interesting plate from his 1884 work. There was an earlier edition of this work1, quite rare, that was printed in a limited edition of 50 for 50 dollars–which was a lot of money back at Centennial, a little less than what a carpenter might make in a month. (See another earlier post here “How Much is 50 Cents in 1876 Worth Today?”)
Again, I am called back to Rimmer for this interesting decomposition. There is some sort of deterioration of the printing process, some minor mystery of the ink/paper/time/conditions battle that is going on here, and it looks as though art is losing. On the other hand, the deterioration is creating its own artwork, probably unexpected by the original artist and printer.
Notes:
1.
[Source: Literary World, volumes 7-9, 1876-7, pg 200. Google Books: https://books.google.com/books?id=x0kDAAAAYAAJ]