Vesalius' fabrica: A report on the worldwide census of the 1543 and 1555 editions

This article provides a listing of known copies of the first two folio editions of Andreas Vesalius’ $\textit{De humani corporis fabrica}$ (1543 and 1555), revising earlier estimates. It shows that the $\textit{Fabrica}$ survives in much higher numbers than previously reported, and has a much wider geographical distribution, as well. The authors discuss the methodologies for conducting census in the digital age, provide an estimate of the print runs, and compare the survival rate of the two folio editions. It is argued that cultural politics explains the circulation patterns and current locations of Vesalius’ $\textit{Fabrica}$. Throughout history, this luxurious atlas of anatomy could only be afforded by the wealthy, and, as a result, surviving copies tend to concentrate in areas that have traditionally been associated with the development of Western economic power structures