In 1955, a representative from WB Saunders, a US medical textbook publisher, visits the Frankfurt Book Fair. At that time, the 5 (which would become 7) volumes of the Pernkopf atlas were owned and published by the Urban and Schwarzenburg company in Vienna. Lawrence Saunders made a deal with Michael Urban to remove all of Pernkopf’s text and condense the text to 2 volumes with the images labeled in English. Saunders would supply the English translations and Urban & Schwarzenberg would print the book in English and German. Saunders would be allowed to distribute the atlas worldwide. Harry Monsen of the University of Chicago Medical School would provide the translations. At that time, anatomical atlases were not a good business model, the company hoped to sell 2,000 copies to break even. Eventually 50,000 copies sold.
Dusseau, J.L. (1988). An informal history of W.B. Saunders Company. W.B. Saunders, Phiadelphia.