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Cover Legend: Spinal Column and Ligatures, Plate 30, Volume I, Atlas of Descriptive Anatomy of the Human Body, V.Masson, Paris, 1844. Two renowned French scientists, Paul Broca (1824–1880) and Constantine Louis Bonamy (b. 1812)collaborated in the production of this noted four volume medical atlas, published from 1844–1866. Broca, professor of surgical pathology at the University of Paris is best known for his work in neuroanatomy. While studying the brains of aphasic patients at the Bicétre Hospital, he discovered the center of speech localization in the left frontal lobe, a site which has gone down in history as “Broca’s area.” Less well known is Broca’s work in the field of anthropology, a science in which he developed new forms of cranial anthropometry and studied the comparative anatomy of primates. He founded the Anthropological Society (1859) and the School of Anthropology in Paris (1876), and was elected a lifetime member of the French Senate and the Académie Française. Constantine Bonamy was professor of anatomy at the École Préparatoire de Médicine in Toulouse with an adjunct appointment at the École de Médicine in Paris. Although well respected in his day, he remains relatively obscure today. The artist, M. Emile Beau (b. 1810) produced the 254 colored engravings, each accompanied by descriptive information. Bonamy wrote the text for Volumes I and II, covering osteology, mycology, the heart, veins, and lymphatics. Broca was responsible for Volumes III and IV, covering the digestive, endocrine, respiratory, and genitourinary systems. Emile Beau’s illustration of the spinal column and ligatures comes from Volume I and is trés beau indeed. Subtle coloration transforms the rib cage into an abstract barrel-vaulted form. The minutely detailed measurements dotting the circumference add a decorative flair. Beau has certainly created far more than your average medical textbook illustration. Image courtesy MBLWHOI Library, Woods Hole, Massachusetts; legend by Ann Weissmann, curator, MBLWHOI Library,(www.mblwhoilibrary.org).