LONDON

[Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, Serjeant Surgeon to William IV and Victoria.] Autograph Prescription Signed ('B C Brodie') in case of 'Miss Smedley'.

Author: 
Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie (1783-1862), distinguished surgeon and physiologist, Serjeant Surgeon to William IV and Victoria, first President of the General Medical Council
Publication details: 
No place; 1 May 1845.
£50.00

1p, 4to. On grey paper. In fair condition, lightly aged and worn, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to reverse. Folded three times. A typical prescription, in Latin, beneath the heading 'Miss Smedley. April [last word deleted] May 1 1845'. The prescription begins with the usual 'Rx'; the last of the fourteen lines that follow ending with Brodie's signature ('B C Brodie').

[Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, Serjeant Surgeon to William IV and Victoria.] Autograph Letter Signed ('B C Brodie')

Author: 
Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie (1783-1862), distinguished surgeon and physiologist, Serjeant Surgeon to William IV and Victoria, first President of the General Medical Council
Publication details: 
14 Savile Row [London]; 5 December 1836.
£90.00

2pp, 12mo. In fair condition, lightly aged, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to reverse. The recipient is not identified. Reads: 'My Dear Sir | I hope that I shall not put you to inconvenience by making my visit to your patient today as late as half past five o clock. A particular circumstance has occurred which will prevent my being in your part of the town at the time originally proposed.'

[Thomas Sutton, physician who first described delirium tremens.] Autograph Letter in the third person to Peter Mark Roget, regarding Alexander J. G. Marcet and 'a paper deliver'd to the Medical & Chirurgical Society'.

Author: 
Thomas Sutton (c.1767-1835), physician who first described delirium tremens [Peter Mark Roget (1779-1869); Alexander John Gaspard Marcet (1770-1822)]
Publication details: 
No place; 12 September 1812.
£500.00

2pp, 4to. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged, with thin strip of paper adhering to the reverse of the second leaf, which is addressed, with postmarks, 'To | Doctor Roget M.D. | Bernard Street | London -'. See the entries on Sutton, Roget and Marcet in the Oxford DNB. The letter concerns a misunderstanding between Sutton and Marcet. (Two of Sutton's letters to Marcet with a copy of a reply by Marcet are offered together separately elsewhere.) The present letter is 2pp, 4to. Bifolium.

[Samuel Tuke of the York Retreat, asylum reformer.] Autograph Letter in the third person to the medical publisher John Churchill, instructing him to send a copy of his book to German psychiatrist Maximilian Jacobi.

Author: 
Samuel Tuke (1784-1857), Quaker minister, asylum reformer at the York Retreat [John Churchill (1801-1875), London medical publisher; Carl Wigand Maximilian Jacobi, German psychiatrist]
Publication details: 
York; 14 September 1841.
£400.00

2pp, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to one edge. Begins: 'Samuel Tuke having been disappointed of an opportunity of sending by a private hand a parcel to his friend Dr Max. Jacobi will be much obliged to J. Churchill to send to him four copies of the translation of his work'.

[Benjamin Harrison, Treasurer of Guy's Hospital.] Autograph Letter Signed ('B Harrison') to Alexander J. G. Marcet, Senior Surgeon at Guy's Hospital, regarding candidates to a post there, including Peter Mark Roget.

Author: 
Benjamin Harrison (1771-1856), Treasurer of Guy's Hospital, London; Alexander John Gaspard Marcet (1770-1822), Genevan-born physician to Guy's Hospital, London, and chemist; Peter Mark Roget]
Publication details: 
Worthing [Sussex]; 5 September 1816.
£500.00

See the entries on Harrison and Marcet in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 4to. In good condition, lightly aged and worn, and folded twice, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to the reverse. Marcet is not identified as the recipient, but the item comes from his papers. It relates to an election to a post at Guy's Hospital, with reference to Peter Mark Roget (1779-1869), author of 'Roget's Thesaurus', whose father came from Geneva. The letter is written in a difficult hand, and the following transcriptions are tentative.

[Middlesex Hospital, London.] Printed Certificate of attendance for Henry W. R. Davey, signed by Samuel Merriman, Physician Accoucheur, and Hugh Ley, Lecturer on Midwifery, with engraving of the building.

Author: 
Samuel Merriman (1771-1852), Physician Accoucheur; Hugh Ley (1790-1837), physician, Lecturer on Midwifery at Middlesex Hospital, London [Henry William Robert Davey]
Publication details: 
Middlesex Hospital [London]. Undated [circa 1820).
£200.00

The subject of the letter is the surgeon Henry William Robert Davey (1798-1870), son of surgeon Henry Sallows Davey (1781-1855) of Beccles, who also studied under Sir Charles Bell at the Hunterian School of Medicine in Great Windmill Street, London. 1p, 8vo. In good condition, lightly aged, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to edge on blank reverse. An attractive document, with 'MIDDLESEX HOSPITAL.' at the head, above an engraving of the frontage of the hospital.

[Guy's Hospital: Benjamin Harrison, Treasurer, and Alexander J. G. Marcet, Senior Surgeon.] Autograph Letter Signed from 'Benj Harrison', replying to Marcet's application on behalf of John Yelloby as his replacement, with Marcet's copy of his letter.

Author: 
Benjamin Harrison (1771-1856), Treasurer of Guy's Hospital, London; Alexander John Gaspard Marcet (1770-1822), Genevan-born physician to Guy's Hospital, London, and chemist [John Yelloby, physician]
Publication details: 
Marcet's draft: 23 March [1804]. Harrison's letter: 'Guys' [Guy's Hospital, London]; 25 March 1804.
£500.00

See the entries on Harrison and Marcet in the Oxford DNB. Both items in good condition, lightly aged and worn, and each folded twice. Harrison's letter with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to the reverse. Marcet is only identified in pencil annotations to the letters, but the details given by the writer of his education accord with Marcet's.

[Malcolm Flemyng, Scottish physiologist and medical author.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Malcolm Flemyng') [to his London publisher John Nourse], ordering books, discussing his 'Lectures', and requesting news of a 'Discovery' by William Hunter.

Author: 
Malcolm Flemyng (c.1700-1764), Scottish physiologist and medical author [John Nourse (1705-1780), London scientific bookseller and publisher; William Hunter (1718-1783), anatomist]
Publication details: 
Caistor [Lincolnshire]; 23 April 1758.
£500.00

The recipient of the present letter is not named, but it is the scientific bookseller and publisher John Nourse (1705-1780), who the following year would published the 'Lectures' referred to in the letter: 'An Introduction to Physiology, being A Course of Lectures upon The most important Parts of the Animal Oeconomy', 'Printed for J. Nourse at the Lamb opposite Katherine-Street in the Strand.

[Robert Gooch, physician, obstetrician and Librarian to George IV.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Robt Gooch'), inviting the recipient to his house to talk 'for an hour or two about Yarmouth news'.

Author: 
Robert Gooch (1784-1830), physician, obstetrician, Librarian to George IV, friend of poet laureate Robert Southey
Publication details: 
Without date or place.
£100.00

1p, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged and worn, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to the second leaf, which has been cut down the middle vertically, resulting in loss to one of the two postmarks, as well as to Gooch's addressing of the letter: '[...]ent Esqre | […] Webb Street | […] Borough –'.

[John Bunnell Davis, physician, founder of the Universal Dispensary for Children [now Royal Waterloo Hospital.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Jno B Davis M D') [to the trustees], tendering in odd terms his resignation from the 'valuable Institution'.

Author: 
John Bunnell Davis (1777-1824), physician, founder in 1816 of the Universal Dispensary for Children [now Royal Waterloo Hospital for Children and Women], London
Publication details: 
'103 Great Surry [sic] Street | Blackf[riar]s [London]. | July 1 1824'.
£250.00

For Davis see Munk's Roll, the Gentleman's Magazine for January 1825, and I. S. L. Loudon's paper 'John Bunnell Davis and the Universal Dispensary for Children' (BMJ, 5 May 1979). The Universal Dispensary for Children, founded by Davis in 1816 and open to the under-twelves, was as Loudon points out 'the first major institution in England devoted solely to the care of sick children, 35 years before the first children's hospital in Liverpool, and 36 before Great Ormond Street'.

[Sir Norman Moore, physician and medical historian.] Autograph Signature ('Norman Moore | M.D.'), as Warden of the College, St Bartholomew's Hospital, to certificate stating that Bedford Pierce 'preserves a good Moral Character'.

Author: 
Sir Norman Moore (1847-1922), physician and medical historian; Warden of the College, St Bartholomew's Hospital [Bedford Pierce (1861-1932), psychiatrist]
Publication details: 
St Bartholomew's Hospital, E.C. [London]; 5 October 1888.
£180.00

For both Moore and Pierce see their entries in the Oxford DNB. 1p, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged and worn, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to reverse of blank second leaf. The certificate is written by another party, with Moore signing and dating at the foot: 'Norman Moore | M.D. | Warden of the College | Oct. 5.

[Thomas Denman [Lord Denman], judge and Lord Chief Justice.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Tho Denman'), expressing a strong desire to dine with a man of whose 'person' he is not 'sure'.

Author: 
Thomas Denman, 1st Baron Denman [Lord Denman] (1779-1854), judge, Lord Chief Justice 1832-1850
Publication details: 
Queen Square [London]. 'Sunday' [no date, but endorsed '14 Feb. 1811'].
£35.00

2pp, 8vo. In good condition, lightly aged, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to edge on reverse, which is endorsed '14 Febr. 1811 | T Denman'. Folded several times. The recipient is not named, but was clearly an individual of some standing, as Denman appears keen to dine with him.

[Sir Erasmus Wilson, eminent surgeon and dermatologist who paid for the transportation of Cleopatra's Needle.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Erasmus Wilson') to 'Miss Acton', diagnosing her 'local malady' as eczema, and giving cause, remedy and prognosis

Author: 
Sir Erasmus Wilson [Sir William James Erasmus Wilson] (1809-1884), eminent surgeon and dermatologist who paid for the transportation of Cleopatra's Needle
Publication details: 
17 Henrietta Street, Cavendish Square [London]; 8 October 1849.
£450.00

3pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged, on browned paper, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to blank reverse of second leaf. He begins by explaining that the delay in replying is due to 'having been suddenly called into the country on Saturday and not returning until this morning'.

[Sir Erasmus Wilson, eminent surgeon and dermatologist who paid for the transportation of Cleopatra's Needle.] Autograph Note Signed ('Erasmus Wilson'), asking Hawley Bartley for 'notes on filaria' for his 'new Edition of my Diseases of the Skin'.

Author: 
Sir Erasmus Wilson [Sir William James Erasmus Wilson] (1809-1884), eminent surgeon and dermatologist who paid for the transportation of Cleopatra's Needle [Robert Trout Hawley Bartley (1819-1882)]
Publication details: 
17 Henrietta Street, Cavendish Square [London]; 16 July 1856.
£350.00

1p, 16mo. Bifolium. Aged and worn, with damage to blank second leaf from removal from mount. Reads: 'My Dear Sir / | I am in the press with a new Edition of My Diseases of the Skin. Could you favour me with any notes on the filaria: - | Yours very faithfully | Erasmus Wilson'. 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.

[Sir John Russell Reynolds, neurologist, Professor at University College London. ] Autograph Letter Signed ('J Russell Reynolds.') to 'Dr. Cleveland' [William Frederick Cleveland], regarding his recent treatment of their joint patient 'Miss Marks'.

Author: 
Sir John Russell Reynolds (1828-1896), neurologist and physician, Professor of the Principles and Practice of Medicine at University College London
Publication details: 
33 Grosvenor Street, W. [London]; 5 September 1884.
£450.00

For information on the recipient William Frederick Cleveland, see his obituary, BMJ, 3 December 1898. 3pp, 12mo. Bifolium on grey paper. In fair condition, lightly aged, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to blank reverse of second leaf. He explains that he is enclosing a letter to which he replied late as he was out of town, giving a time that day which 'would suit me, if it would be convenient to you'. He 'begged' the writers of the letter to let Cleveland know.

[John Frost, controversial founder of the Medico-Botanical Society of London.] Autograph Letter Signed to the nurseryman Thomas Gibbs of Ampthill, boasting of his activities and reporting plans of a memorial to Gibbs's son.

Author: 
John Frost (1803-1840), controversial founder of the Medico-Botanical Society of London; Secretary, Royal Humane Society; personal physician to the Duke of Cumberland [Thomas Gibbs of Ampthill]
Publication details: 
29 Bridge Street, Blackfriars [where he lived as Secretary to the Royal Humane Society] [London]; 10 February 1827.
£750.00

Frost's eventful career (patronised by royalty and blackballed by the Royal Society) is described in his entry in the Oxford DNB, in which he is described as a 'medical entrepreneur'. The letter is written from the premises in which Frost lived from 1824 to 1830, as Secretary to the Royal Humane Society. The recipient Thomas Gibbs (1771-1849), seedsman and nurseryman, of Ampthill and Brompton Lodge, Old Brompton, was the father of the agriculturalist and horticulturalist Sir Benjamin Thomas Brandreth-Gibbs (1821-1885). See his obituary in the Farmer's Magazine, March 1849. 3pp, 4to. Bifolium.

[Charles Murchison, eminent physician, President of the Pathological Society of London.] Two Autograph Letters Signed (both 'C. Murchison') to [William Frederick] Cleveland, regarding treatment of the final illness of the physician James Copland.

Author: 
Charles Murchison (1830-1879), eminent physician; President of the Pathological Society of London [William Frederick Cleveland; James Copland; Sir Henry Thompson]
Publication details: 
5 and 10 July 1870. The first with letterhead of 79 Wimpole Street, London W.
£450.00

For Murchison and the subject of the letter, the eminent Scottish physician and medical author James Copland (1791-1870), see the Oxford DNB. Both items bifoliums; and both in good condition, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to the reverse of the second leaf. ONE: 3pp, 12mo. He begins by saying that he has seen Sir Henry Thompson (1820-1904), who 'cannot possibly meet us to-morrow but he will be at Dr Coplands at 3.40 on Thursday – That is the day of my Law Case but I will be there if I can'.

[Sir William Jenner, eminent physician who discovered the distinction between typhus and typhoid.] Autograph Letter Signed ('W. Jenner') to 'Dr. Cleveland' [William Frederick Cleveland]

Author: 
Sir William Jenner (1815-1898), eminent physician who discovered the distinction between typhus and typhoid, Holme Professor at University College London [William Frederick Cleveland (1823-1898)]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of 63 Brook Street, Grosvenor Square [London]; 10 February 1877.
£200.00

For information on the recipient William Frederick Cleveland, see his obituary, BMJ, 3 December 1898. 2pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to the reverse of the second leaf, which carries the postscript: 'If you write I will arrange for Tuesday -'. Folded twice. He begins by apologising for not being able to meet Cleveland that day or the next: 'I have to go to Surbiton & Hampton this afternoon & on my return start for a consult. in Cumberland & cannot be home till Monday night -'.

[John Coakley Lettsom, physician, founder of the Medical Society of London, friend of Benjamin Franklin.] Autograph Letter Signed ('J. C Lettsom'), to Charles Taylor, expressing great distress on the death of his son John Miers Lettsom, M.D.

Author: 
John Coakley Lettsom (1744-1815), physician, philanthropist, abolitionist, founder in 1773 of the Medical Society of London, friend of Benjamin Franklin [his son John Miers Lettsom, M.D. (1771-1800)]
Publication details: 
'Sambrook Co [Sambrook Court, Basinghall Street, London]; 29 January 1800.
£450.00

Lettsom's entry in the Oxford DNB erroneously states that his son John Miers Lettsom, M.D., 'a physician of promise', died in 1799. For the true details, see Gentleman's Magazine, January 1800. 1p, 8vo. Bifolium. In fair condition, aged and worn, with thin strip of paper adhering to the blank reverse of the second leaf, which is addressed, with fragment of seal in black wax, to 'Mr Charles Taylor | 134 | Cheapside'. The recipient may well be Charles Taylor (d.1816), physician, originally a Manchester calico printer and dyer, who later became Secretary of the Society of Arts, London.

[John Coakley Lettsom, physician, founder of the Medical Society of London, friend of Benjamin Franklin.] Autograph Letter Signed ('J. C. Lettsom') to 'Dr. Taylor' [Charles Taylor], regarding his nomination as member of the Society.

Author: 
John Coakley Lettsom (1744-1815), physician, philanthropist, abolitionist, founder in 1773 of the Medical Society of London, friend of Benjamin Franklin [Dr Charles Taylor, Secretary, Society of Arts]
Publication details: 
['Sambrook Co [Sambrook Court, Basinghall Street, London] | Nov. 25. 1805.'
£450.00

The recipient is Charles Taylor (d.1816), physician, originally a Manchester calico printer and dyer, who later became Secretary of the Society of Arts, London. 1p, 8vo. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to reverse of second leaf, which is addressed, with postmarks to 'Dr. Taylor | Principal Secretary | to the Society of Arts &c | Adelphi'. Folded four times. Reads: 'Dear Doctor | I have this day proposed your name to the Medical Society of London.

[Bryan Waller Procter (the poet 'Barry Cornwall'), as Commissioner in Lunacy.] Autograph Letter Signed ('B. W. Procter'), asking a colleague (Harris?] for information about the 'Conduct' of 'some patients', 'particularly about Miss Anne [Lealer?].

Author: 
Bryan Waller Procter (1787-1874), poet under pseudonym 'Barry Cornwall' and Commissioner in Lunacy, 1832-1861, member of London Magazine circle, friend of Charles Lamb, Thackeray and Wilkie Collins
Publication details: 
On letterhead of the Office of Commissioners in Lunacy, 19 New Street, Spring Gardens [London]. 12 August 1847.
£120.00

Proctor was a much loved individual in literary circles, from the days of the London Magazine to the mid-Victorian period, in which he was the dedicatee of both Thackeray's 'Vanity Fair' and Wilkie Collins's 'Woman in White'. His reputation as a poet was international: he was thought highly of by Pushkin. 1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to blank reverse. The letter reads: 'Dear [Harris?] | Pray tell me where [?] I can have some conversation with you about some patients of the name of [Lealer? Lester?], whom you know.

[William Wadd, surgeon-extraordinary to George IV and medical author.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Wm. Wadd') to 'Henry Dewey' [in fact the Yarmouth physician Henry Davey], regarding his 'Universal' print collection and 'Nugae Chirurgicae'.

Author: 
William Wadd (1776-1829), surgeon-extraordinary to George IV and medical author [Henry William Robert Davey of Yarmouth]
Publication details: 
Park Place [London]; 24 April 1825.
£400.00

4pp, 4to. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to reverse of second leaf, which is addressed by Wadd, with his seal in red wax (the breaking of which has caused slight loss to a couple of words), to 'Henry Dewey Esqr | Surgeon | King Street | Yarmouth | Norfolk'. The recipient is in fact the surgeon Henry William Robert Davey (1798-1870) of Yarmouth, son of surgeon Henry Sallows Davey (1781-1855) of Beccles. An interesting letter, casting light on print and autograph collecting in Georgian London.

[Sir Thomas Watson, President of the Royal College of Physicians.] Autograph Letter Signed ('Thomas Watson.') to Yarmouth physician Henry Davey, suggesting a meeting and tour of London University, with reference to 'Mr. Bell', i.e. Sir Charles Bell.

Author: 
Sir Thomas Watson (1792-1882), President of the Royal College of Physicians, 1862-1866 [Sir Charles Bell (1774-1842), Scottish physiologist and surgeon; Henry William Robert Davey of Yarmouth]
Publication details: 
24 Henrietta Street, Cavendish Square [London]. 'Monday Evening. - Feby 23. 1829'.
£200.00

The recipient of this letter is the surgeon Henry William Robert Davey (1798-1870) of Yarmouth, son of surgeon Henry Sallows Davey (1781-1855) of Beccles; and the 'Mr. Bell' mentioned in it is Sir Charles Bell, who had taught Davey ten years before at Theatre of Anatomy, Great Windmill Street. 2pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, lightly aged, with a strip cut away from the outside edge of the second leaf, which carries two postmarks and Watson's address to 'Henry Davey Esqre | Tavistock Hotel | Covent Garden'. Twenty-one lines of neatly-written text.

[Sir William Adams (from 1825 Sir William Rawson), oculist.] Autograph Note in the third person to 'Mr Bartley', stating 'his fee for operating upon his Eyes & attendance'.

Author: 
Sir William Adams [from 1825 Sir William Rawson] (1783-1827), oculist
Publication details: 
26 Albemarle Street [London]; 17 December [1819].
£180.00

1p, 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, aged and creased, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to reverse of second leaf, which is addressed, with seal in red wax and postmarks, 'To | Mr Bartley | 8. Shacklewell End | Nr. Kingsland Turnpike'. The note reads: 'Sir W Adams presents his Compts to Mr Bartley & informs him that his fee for operating upon his Eyes & attendance is sixty Guineas. -' 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.

[John Aikin, physician and author.] Autograph Letter Signed ('J. Aikin') to 'Mr Spottiswoode', i.e. the London printer John Spottiswoode, regarding the printing of the ninth volume of his 'General Biography'.

Author: 
John Aikin (1747-1822), physician and author, brother of Anna Laetitia Barbauld (1743-1825) [John Spottiswoode (1780-1866), London printer]
Publication details: 
'Stoke Newington | Decer. 6th. [1813]'.
£450.00

1p, 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, aged and worn, with thin strip from mount adhering to the reverse of the second leaf, which is addressed, with two postmarks (one 'STOKE NEWINGTON') to 'Mr Spottiswoode | New Street | Shoe Lane'. Aikin's 'Universal Biography' had begun appearing in 1799, and the letter concerns the ninth volume, which was published in 1814.

[Robert Hamilton of Ipswich, Irish army physician and medical author.] Autograph Letter Signed ('R: Hamilton') to Sir Charles Brian Blagden, Secretary, Royal Society, praising that body in regard to a 'trifling performance' presented to its library.

Author: 
Robert Hamilton (1749-1830) of Ipswich, Irish army physician and medical author [Sir Charles Brian Blagden (1748-1820), medical officer in the Army and Secretary of the Royal Society, London]
Publication details: 
Ipswich; 10 February 1788.
£250.00

1p, 4to. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged, with thin strip from mount adhering to reverse of second leaf, which is addressed, with broken seal in red wax, to 'Dr. Blagden | Secry. to the | Royal Society | London'. After thanking Blagden for the trouble he has taken 'in transmitting the thanks of the R: Socy. To me for the trifling performance I sent to the Library', Hamilton continues: 'I consider myself as honoured by its reception.

[Sir Benjamin Ward Richardson, physician and medical author.] Autograph Letter Signed ('B W Richardson') to 'Dr Cleveland' [William Frederick Cleveland], regarding a University of St Andrews dinner and testimonial for George Edward Day.

Author: 
Sir Benjamin Ward Richardson (1828-1896), physician, sanitarian and medical author [William Frederick Cleveland (1823-1898), surgeon; George Edward Day; University of St Andrews]
Publication details: 
On letterhead of 12 Hinde Street, W. [London] 28 April 1864.
£180.00

2pp, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to the blank second leaf of the bifolium. Folded twice. With regard to the University of St Andrews, where he and Cleveland received their medical education, Richardson writes that he is 'very pleased to hear from Dr Paul' that Cleveland 'will attend our University dinner. We shall have a very agreeable and I believe successful meeting'.

[John Aikin, physician and author.] Autograph Memorandum Signed ('J. A.') to the London publishers Cadell and Davies, a reader's report providing a damning assessment of a work 'much below mediocrity'.

Author: 
John Aikin (1747-1822), physician and author, brother of Anna Laetitia Barbauld (1743-1825) [Cadell & Davies [Thomas Cadell the younger and William Davies], London publishers]
Publication details: 
Without place or date, but after the establishment of the firm of Cadell & Davies in 1793.
£350.00

2pp, 12mo. Bifolium, addressed on reverse of second leaf to 'Messs. Cadell & Davies'. In good condition, lightly aged, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to one edge. An interesting document, providing an insight into the world of Georgian publishing. Without preamble or salutation, reads: 'This work, in point of style, composition, & sentiment – everything, in short, in which the writer's merit is concerned, is much below mediocrity. But whether its subject, & the side it takes in party, might not at the present moment gain it some public favour, is what I cannot answer.

[Sir James Paget, eminent pathologist.] Autograph Letter in the third person, declining to dine with the Hunterian Society.

Author: 
Sir James Paget (1814-1899), eminent pathologist and physiologist, Gale Professor at the Royal College of Surgeons
Publication details: 
24 Henrietta Street, Cavendish Square [London]. 3 February 1852.
£50.00

1p, 12mo. In fair condition, on aged paper, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to reverse of second leaf of bifolium. Reads: 'Mr. Paget regrets that an engagement for the Evening of February 4th. prevents his having he honour of accepting the Invitation of the President, Vice-Presidents and Council of the Hunterian Society'. 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.

[Sir Edward Henry Sieveking, Physician in Ordinary to Queen Victoria.] Autograph Letter Signed ('E H Sieveking') to '[S J?] Clarke Esq',

Author: 
Sir Edward Henry Sieveking (1816-1904), Physician in Ordinary to Queen Victoria, physician to St Mary's Hospital in London
Publication details: 
On letterhead of 17 Manchester Square, W. [London]; 20 November 1863.
£350.00

1p, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged, with thin strip of paper from mount adhering to blank reverse. The recipient is clearly the editor of a journal, who has solicited an article. Reads: 'My dear Sir | I am ashamed to say that I have nothing on hand that I care to publish, and I am afraid I am not as indefatigable with the pen as some of my friends. Pray accept my apologies and allow me to reserve myself for a future occasion'.

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