The Making of Mr. Gray's Anatomy: Bodies, Books, Fortune, Fame

by Ruth Richardson

When Gray's Anatomy appeared in 1858, contemporaries immediately recognized that it was a departure from anything that had come before. Sales were brisk, and the book rapidly became not just a bestseller, but the standard work. Created by two young men in only two years in the mid-nineteenth
century, Gray's Anatomy is the only textbook of human anatomy continuously in print for the last 150 years.
Commemorating this remarkable anniversary, The Making of Mr. Gray's Anatomy tells the fascinating story of the origin of this groundbreaking book. Providing a wealth of historical context, Dr. Ruth Richardson examines both the mid-Victorian medical world in which Henry Gray and the brilliant
illustrator Henry Vandyke Carter operated and the vigorous publishing industry in London at that time. Along the way, Richardson explores the scientific and cultural life of the medical school dissecting room and dead house, as well as the lives of those whose corpses ended up on the slab. The very
different personalities and life-stories of Gray and Carter emerge in the telling, as do those of their publishers, and the many other individuals who were involved in the making of the book itself. Indeed, The Making of Mr. Gray's Anatomy investigates the entire production process--from the book's
conception in 1855 to its reception by the medical press in 1858--via typesetters, wood-engravers, steam printers, paper and printing-ink suppliers, paper-folders, stitchers and bookbinders. Here we encounter individuals motivated by money, vanity, altruism, scientific discovery, professional pride,
and the quest for faith and fame.
Vividly written and painstakingly researched, The Making of Mr. Gray's Anatomy illuminates a vibrant human document, one that has guided medical students for a century and a half.

Genres: History, Science, Medicine, Nonfiction, Biography, British Literature

322 pages, Hardcover

First published October 23, 2008

Reviews

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting approach to history, and as a librarian who works with health sciences literature, one I truly appreciated. There are so many eponymously named medical textbooks, but none more well-known than Gray's Anatomy. Richardson effectively writes a biography of a book, rather than its authors. And although Henry Gray and Henry Carter feature prominently in the story (and Carter more so than Gray), this is a through and engaging homage to a book that has been a part of medical education for over 150 years.

Richardson covers so many aspects of the world into which Gray's Anatomy appeared in 1858 -- the recent passage of the Anatomy Act that legally regulated anatomy school's acquisition of corpses for dissection, the anxiety held by the poor over what could happen to their bodies after death, the gradual move toward meritocracy in advancement through the ranks of the medical profession, an overview of anatomy texts and how they'd changed over time, mid-Victorian publishing and printing practices, and more. For some, the attention given to some of these topics might seem tedious, but I appreciated this thorough treatment.

I especially enjoyed the chapter on how the authors, publishers and printers dealt with a last-minute realization that, due to a lack of communication, the engraved wood blocks used for illustration had been made too large for the intended book size -- a lucky accident that helped to make Gray's Anatomy unique. I was also moved by Richardson's description of Carter's approach to representing dissected human anatomy in a respectful and caring way -- especially in comparison to the more horrific representations that had appeared in earlier texts.

Richardson understandably gives more attention to Carter than Gray, mostly because Carter kept a journal, lived longer and left more of a paper trail. However, since it is Carter's illustrations that were so unique and innovative at the time, I think this emphasis is fair. Although the book was Gray's, what we remember are the images.

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, although I felt there wasn't quite enough material to justify an entire book on this topic, especially as there are several key primary sources, such as Mr. Grey's notes and diaries, which are no longer available, and there is (frankly) remarkably little "drama" around the book's creation.

[Mark Reid · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author is acknowledged for her previous book called ‘Death, Dissection and the Destitute’ - a memorable name for a work on such grisly matters as body-snatching. ‘Mr. Gray’s Anatomy’ continues in the medical science history vein. This is also a fascinating portrayal of mid-Victorian society in central London. It enables us to imagine individual real-life stories in the black-and-white cover picture of a street full of horse-drawn vehicles crowded with men in top hats. Gray’s Anatomy was published by Parker’s on The Strand. The hospital Gray worked at was St George’s, with its dead-house and dissecting room where corpses were cut up without the consent of the previous living occupant. St.George’s is now the very swanky Lanesborough hotel, close to Hyde Park. Richardson is very sympathetic to Gray’s illustrator, Henry Carter. This is partly because he left very helpful diaries, and partly because Henry Gray did abuse Carter’s passive personality. Gray ordered a reduction in the size of Carter’s name on the book’s title page. The brilliantly skilled illustrator was prone to self-doubt, and spent too much time waiting for signs of God’s providence, rather than acting decisively on his own. I think Richardson makes a point in her title of reminding us Gray was plain Mr. Gray, while Carter was Doctor, and later, Professor Carter.
Bibliophiles will love the detail of the printing and publication of Gray’s Anatomy, especially about how there was a huge crisis when it was realised at the eleventh hour that the pictures were too big for the pages. (Carter was not to blame for this). These intricacies of book production do make the reader all the more on the lookout for discrepancies in Richardson’s book itself. I read the first edition, and found two typos, plus a mis-spelling of piscatorial, and, a real whopper this, the street in Scarborough which now has a blue plaque to remember Carter, is given as Belgrave Square, when it should read Belgrave Crescent.
In all, this is a very well researched book, and excellent history. However, the author does have a persistent tendency for speculative musing when there are gaps in the record; and here she deploys phrases including he ‘might well have wondered’ or ‘would perhaps have pondered’. It is unnecessary. The facts Richardson does bring us are compelling enough.

[Chance D · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've read quite a few books on the Dr. Henry's however this one was incredibly boring. There just isn't enough surviving literature on the Henry's to make a full length book around the making of the text. It drags on quite a bit and relies on a lot of "probably happened". I wouldn't suggest it.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This a very interesting examination of how Gray's Anatomy came to be produced and published. It covers the lives of the book's author, Henry Gray, and its illustrator, Henry Carter, and also the publisher, John Parker, and the printer. There is some drama when it is discovered the illustrations are too large. These days it is a fairly simple matter to resize images in the digital environment but that wasn't available then. There are also descriptions of the dissecting rooms and of where the bodies in question were obtained. For anyone interested in the history of Gray's Anatomy, or in the process of book production in the nineteenth century, this is a fascinating, well produced and very readable book.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great story on the development of this magnificent book. I liked how Richardson balanced the cast of characters developing the text book, with analyzing the stater of medicine and why the book was commercially successful. The size of the book was designed to allow for large images but to be comfortable to carry. In addition, it was very carefully priced to appeal to the anatomy student. I though the most interesting character was the illustrator Carter rather than the pompous Gray.

Great read for history buffs: Victorian or medical.

[Cindy]

Very interesting book! Learned so much about Victorian era medical professionals, printing and bookbinding operations, and about the lives of the two principals involved in the creation of this anatomical masterpiece!

[Jwt Jan50 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Because the daughter was working her way into and through a Physician's Assistant program, I read through a number of interesting and entertaining works re medical. Any interest in 19th century science, book illustration - strongly recommend.