Hunter, William. Anatomia uteri humani gravidi tabulis illustrata. London: Printed for the Sydenham Society, 1851.
Originally published in 1774, our copy is a 19th century reprint that includes English translation of the text.
The engravings by the Dutch-born illustrator Jan van Rymsdyk are beautiful and - to my eye - unsettling.
"PLATE VI. This represents the child in the womb, in its natural situation...Every part is represented just as it was found; not so much as one joint of a finger having been moved to show any part more distinctly, or to give a more picturesque effect."
Plate XII is one of two images of a subject that was described as having died from a fatal "flooding" or hemorrhage during childbirth. The caption points to "The external lobulated surface of the lower part of the placenta; which had originally stuck to the inside of the neck and mouth of the womb; but as parturition approached, the dilation of these parts occasioned a separation, which was necessarily followed by an hemorrhage."
The narrative details give the subjects a haunting concreteness.