Gray’s Anatomy, 1859, First American Edition

Anatomy, Descriptive and Surgical, by Henry Gray, F.R.S. Lecturer on Anatomy at St. George's Hospital. The Drawings by H. V. Carter, M. D. Late Demonstrator of Anatomy at St. George's Hospital. The Dissections Jointly by the Author and Dr. Carter. With Three Hundred and Sixty-Three Engravings on Wood. Philadelphia: Blanchard and Lea. 1859.
The first American edition (after the first English edition of 1858). Thick quarto volume, measuring 10.5 x 7.5 x 2.5 inches, bound in original full brown calf. Minor scuffs and shelf wear to boards. New spine label. Damp/mildew stain to fore-edges of boards and affecting rear paste down, flyleaf, and last few advertisements (last page of ads has tear at bottom corner). Actual text of the book is unaffected by these defects. Cord at bottom end coming lose. Binding is tight throughout. Previous owner’s penciled signature on blank following ffep. Book is otherwise clean and unmarked with minimal toning or offsetting from figures.
Ffep, blank, half title, title - xxxii, 754 (including 34 pages of index), blank, 80 pages of ads, blank, rfep.
Page 1 erroneously paginated as 3 at bottom center of page (all else paginated at upper outer corner). 
The abundant advertisements at the rear give excellent historical context for this work among other medical and scientific publications available at that time.
Early editions of Gray’s were not only a descriptive anatomy but also a dissector, with scattered comments and illustrations on how to perform cadaver dissection. (But a personal favorite feature of mine is the comment that cerebrospinal fluid is salty tasting.)
Heirs 1915 (this edition): “The first edition of 1858 was found to have a good many errors, most of which were corrected in the 1859 edition. Gray's Anatomy still remains a standard textbook….”
Heirs 1914 (1858 1st edition): “The author's opening statement in the Preface reads: "This work is intended to furnish the Student and Practitioner with an accurate view of the Anatomy of the Human Body, and more especially the application of this science to Practical Surgery." The success of that intention for more than a century could be proclaimed by generations of medical students and doctors of medicine in the English-speaking world. Gray was lecturer on anatomy at St. George's Hospital, London, and this lasting and monumental work, produced by a young man who died young, must be compared to the Fabrica of Vesalius, who produced his great work before the age of thirty years.”
Henry Gray (1825 - 1861). The 42nd edition of his book was published November 11, 2020 as Gray's Anatomy: The Anatomical Basis of Clinical Practice.