The Four Seasons of Human Life By HFJ Horstmanshoff, et. al. Published by Erasmus Publishing and the Trent Collection, 2002 109 pages, heavily illustrated, hardcover

This scholarly study of the four anonymous 17th century engravings from the Trent Collection, History of Medicine, is available for purchase through Balogh International (http://www.balogh.com) for $136.00. For more information about this publication, contact Suzanne Porter, Curator, History of Medicine Collections, at (919) 660-1143 or porte004@mc.duke.edu.

The Four Seasons: An Interactive Web Version of the Engravings

The History of Medicine Collections and Anthony Benson, formerly of the Division of Educational Medial Services, Duke University School of Medicine, produced an interactive version of The Four Seasons in 2000, which has now been reprogrammed for the Web. Funds for the creation of this resource were donated by John P. McGovern, MD.

These unique seventeenth-century coperplate engravings from the Trent Collection were digitally reconstructed from over 200 photographs to reproduce the experience of lifting the multilayered flaps and volvelles to reveal various anatomical dissections. A metaphor for the stages of human life, the prints illustrate not only human anatomy but are replete with allusions to alchemy, astrology, astronomy, zoology, botany, geography, physiology, uroscopy, and palmistry.