Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1765 - 1935 (Creation)
Level of description
Series
Extent and medium
1 box (manuscript, print, typescript and photocopy)
Context area
Name of creator
Archival history
The papers were given to Benjamin Brodie by James Frederick Palmer, who had edited Hunter’s works in 1835-1837. Brodie, in turn, gave the papers to Charles Hawkins, who published some of the transcripts in The Lancet in 1886-1888, and may have been planning to publish on them further; some of the annotations and additional papers are by him. Further additions were made by George Edwards, honorary archivist at St George’s in the 1960s.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
The collection relates to Hunter’s dispute with St George’s Hospital and the division of pupils’ fees among the surgeons, which Hunter perceived as unfair, arguing he brought in more pupils than the other surgeons. The dispute culminated in a meeting in Oct 1793 at the hospital, during which Hunter suffered a heart attack and died.
In addition to the papers relating to the dispute, there are some additional notes, some collected by Charles Hawkins and some by George Edwards. These include copies of two letters from John Hunter’s pupil James Williams to his sister, describing working with Hunter, dissections and the work of the so-called ‘Resurrection Men’, and describing Hunter’s death. These were acquired apparently from a descendant of Williams by Edwards; the location of the original letters is unknown.
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
Script of material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Hunter, John (Subject)
- Hawkins, Charles C. (Subject)
- Brodie, Benjamin Collins (Subject)
- Palmer, James Frederick (Subject)
- Edwards, George (Subject)
Genre access points
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Language(s)
Script(s)
Sources
Archivist's note
Catalogued by Archivist J. Ahvensalmi, May 2023