Eduard M.W. Weber
Anatomical model of the human brain
Munich, mid-twentieth century

Many artistic devices are used in anatomy books to overcome the challenge of presenting the three-dimensional body on the two-dimensional page, from elaborate backdrops to gesturing skeletons to pop-up flaps. Models can do the job much more effectively, as in this example of a human brain printed in Germany in the 1950s. The need for good quality substitutes when the supply of bodies for dissection was limited stimulated much innovation in anatomical model making. Paper models could not stand much handling, but were cheap to produce and have been a popular source of do-it-yourself instruments and models since the birth of printing.

Whipple Museum Wh. 6543
Object on loan from the Whipple Museum of the History of Science, University of Cambridge and reproduced by kind permission