Stripping Turtles

The very rare, 2-volume series, 'Anatome Testudinis Europaeae', by LH Bojanus was published in 1819-1821 (in Latin), and includes 39 stipple engravings by F Lehmann after drawings by the author.

[The images below have been cropped and background cleaned]

Following completion of his medical training in Germany, Ludwig Heinrich (Louis Henri) Bojanus (1776-1827) somehow obtained a position at the University of Vilnius (Lithuania) as a professor of veterinary science.

Bojanus eventually specialised in comparative anatomy, an emerging discipline - originally steeped in philosophy - that had been championed by contemporary German thinker-polymaths such as Goethe, Lorenz Oken* and Johann Baptist von Spix*.

"[At] the University of Vilnius, Bojanus became the chairman of the school of “livestock medicine.” He was the first to describe the organ of secretion (kidney) of the lamellibranchia mollusk (Bojanus organ), but he erroneously identified it as the lung.

He studied equine anatomy and embryology and contagious animal diseases (anthrax, plague, and others). He established zoological and zootomical departments at the University of Vilnius, created the first helminthological collection in Russia, developed a curriculum, and introduced a program of veterinary studies. Bojanus’ basic works were in embryology, zoology, medicine, veterinary science, and zootechnology." [source]

Bojanus published a wide variety of scientific papers and was an Honorary Member of the Swedish Scientific Academy, but it was the turtle anatomy set that was his most famous publication and these volumes are still cited as primary sources.

• The two volumes of 'Anatome Testudinis Europaeae' by Ludwig Heinrich Bojanus (1819-1821) are available from the fabulous Biodiversity Heritage Library (from Harvard University).
• The Bojanus turtle anatomy volumes at the Internet Archive.
• At least Vol. 1 is available from the AnimalBase at SUB Göttingen (I think they are presently digitising Vol. 2).
• I noticed in passing that the 2-volume set - "not in good condition" - was selling for more than $US8000. I also saw mention of a reissue of the set in the early 20th century, but I've not been able to find a copy of the books in English.
• A short Bojanus biography at Wikipedia.
• A paperback edition of 'Anatome Testudinis Europaeae' is available from Amazon.
• Previously: The Embryology of Turtles ::: Turtle Diary.