in 1829, francis egerton, the eighth earl of bridgewater, died and in his will, he left a large sum of money to the president of the royal society of london. the will stipulated that the money was to be used to write, print, and publish one thousand copies of a work on the power, wisdom, and goodness of god. the president of the royal society, davies gilbert appointed eight gentlemen to write separate treatises on the subject. in 1833, he published the fourth bridgewater treatise, "the hand: its mechanism and vital endowments as evincing design". charles bell published four editions of "the hand". in the first few chapters, bell organizes his treatise as an early textbook of comparative anatomy. the book is full of pictures where bell compares “hands” of different organisms ranging from human hands, chimpanzee paws, and fish feelers. after the first few chapters, bell orients his treatise around the significance of the hand and its importance in its use in anatomy. he emphasizes that the hand is as important as the eye in the field of surgery and that it must be trained.