[Sir Edward Henry Sieveking, Physician in Ordinary to Queen Victoria.] Autograph Letter Signed ('E. H. Sieveking') to the surgeon William Frederick Cleveland, regarding the recovery of his fees following the death of 'Mr [Kimpston?]'

For information on the recipient William Frederick Cleveland (1823-1898), see his obituary, BMJ, 3 December 1898. 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to reverse of second leaf. Addressed to 'Dear Dr Cleveland'. He is 'going out of town' the following week, and 'has seen no one connected with Mr [Kimpston?] since the death'. He hopes Cleveland 'will not take it amiss if, considering the class of person', he asks him 'what will be done about the fees due' to him. 'Physicians as you know can enforce no claim & they are therefore apt to be forgotten if not paid at the time.' He 'willingly' leaves the matter in Cleveland's hands. From the distinguished autograph collection of the psychiatrist Richard Alfred Hunter (1923-1981), whose collection of 7000 works relating to psychiatry is now in Cambridge University Library. Hunter and his mother Ida Macalpine had a particular interest in the illness of King George III, and their book 'George III and the Mad Business' (1969) suggested the diagnosis of porphyria popularised by Alan Bennett in his play 'The Madness of George III'.