morbid anatomy

In a blandly written order in the midst of the Civil War, the Army surgeon general instructed surgeons "diligently to collect and preserve" all specimens of "morbid anatomy, surgical or medical, which may be regarded as valuable."

An offspring of the now-defunct Morbid Anatomy Museum, this 1,000-square-foot cabinet of curiosities is slated to open in a new, permanent location on Sept. 18.

“To us, death is exotic,” said Joanna Ebenstein, founder of Morbid Anatomy, a Brooklyn-based enterprise that offers events and books focused on death, art and culture.

Ebenstein, creator of the Morbid Anatomy blog, points out that in the Renaissance dissection of the human body was a form of spectacle performed for “a paying public” and “often part of the festivities related to carnival celebrations and might be accompanied by drinks and music.”

The images have been inspiration and provided material for collectors and Victoriana enthusiasts like Joanna Ebenstein, 48, a writer and curator who was a founder of the idiosyncratic Morbid Anatomy Museum, now closed, in Brooklyn.