DEP/ALW/4/7 | Ephemera from the Royal Edinburgh Hospital for Sick Children | From the collection of William Alister Alexander. Includes a pharmacopeia for Great Ormond Street Hospital; practice chart for cleft palate patients as used in speech clinic at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital for Sick Children (RHSC); and method of case-taking at RHSC. Alexander worked at the hospital. | c1921 |
DEP/ANO/9 | Volume of paintings of patients at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital | Volume with the title 'Bruised Reeds 1882' on the front cover. Contains twelve water colour paintings of patients at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital. Each small painting is captioned with the patient's name and details of his case (all are male). There is also a painting on the first page of a pond in moonlight with reeds and a crow in a tree. The original manuscripts catalogue states that this is a copy of a volume held by the Lothian Health Services Archive amongst the Thomas Clouston papers. That volume is by John Myles (also known as Miles).
The additional information provided below about this volume and the portraits it contains was provided by Allan Beveridge in January 2020, based on his research in the Royal Edinburgh Asylum records held by the Lothian Health Services Archive (LHSA).
The LHSA has in its collections seven coloured drawings which are signed ‘JM’, and which give the patient’s name, their diagnosis, their patient number and their case book reference. The clinical information is written in pen, most probably by a clinician, and quite possibly by the Medical Superintendent of the Royal Edinburgh Asylum, Dr Thomas Clouston.
This volume which the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh holds contains twelve painted portraits, six of the same patients as those in the LHSA series and six further patients. These paintings are unsigned and are much cruder in their execution, suggesting they were done by another artist. They have an accompanying hand-written text, which gives the patient’s name and provides a brief clinical vignette. The hand-writing is different from that of the LHSA series though they may have also been written by a clinician. They would appear to be copies of the original John Miles’s portraits as they are much less detailed and they are less refined in rendering the patient’s facial features and clothing.
John Miles was admitted to the Royal Edinburgh Asylum on the 21 May 1881. He was 59 years old, married and described as a ‘Portrait Painter’. He was a pauper patient from Saint Cuthbert’s and he had been admitted via the Royal Infirmary. On 16 October 16 he was discharged ‘Recovered’.
The portraits:
Andrew Simpson was admitted to the Royal Edinburgh Asylum on 5 March, 1880. He was a 55 year-old married baker. He lived at 53 Bristo Street, Edinburgh and was a pauper patient from St Cuthbert’s. He was diagnosed with melancholia. He died in the asylum on 7 July 1883. His cause of death was given as: ‘Phthisis Pulmonalis’, ‘Kidney Disease’ and ‘Brain Disease’.
George Lumsden was admitted to the Royal Edinburgh Asylum on 22 July 22 1867. He was single and of no occupation. No age was given. His diagnosis was ‘Epileptic Imbecility’. He died in 1893 of ‘Epilepsy – 34 years. Pneumonia 3 days’. The accompanying text appears to be inaccurate, at least in terms of what the case notes state. He is called ‘James’, rather than ‘George’ and is said to have been blind since birth. This was not mentioned in the case notes and surely would have been if true. He was described as playing the violin not particularly well and to have a bad temper, though the case notes described him as good-natured.
George Dickson was admitted to the Royal Edinburgh Asylum on the 6 May 1870. He was 60 years old, and had been admitted previously in 1852. He was widowed and a joiner. He lived at 3 North Saint James Street, Edinburgh. The existing attack had lasted 6 months. He was not epileptic, suicidal or dangerous.
James Laurie was admitted to the Royal Edinburgh Asylum on 20 January 1877. He was 13 years old. He had no education and was a pauper patient who was transferred from St Cuthbert’s Poorhouse. The predisposing factor was ‘Congenital’. On physical examination, James was found to be paralysed on the left side and his left foot was clubbed. He was epileptic. The diagnosis was ‘Idiocy’. On 7 November 1884, James died. The Cause of Death was Brain Disease and Phthisis Pulmonalis, duration one year. He was 20 years old.
William Archibald was admitted to the Royal Edinburgh Asylum on 1 January 1880. He was 28 years old, married and a cook. He lived at 25 East London Street, Edinburgh and was a pauper patient from St Cuthbert’s. The diagnosis was ‘General Paralysis’. On 24 January 1890, he died of Bronchopneumonia. The text says he was about 40 years old, though according to the case notes he was 30.
William Beattie was admitted to the Royal Edinburgh Asylum on the 17 April 1880. He was 45 years old, single, and a tailor. He was a pauper patient from St Cuthbert’s and had been transferred from Dundee Royal Asylum. His Transfer Certificate recorded: ‘He is deaf, dumb, and in a frail state of bodily health’. The diagnosis was ‘Melancholia’.
William Walls was admitted to the Royal Edinburgh Asylum on 4 April 1879. He was 48 years old and was described as a married shopkeeper or merchant. He was a private patient and lived at 148 Links, Kirkcaldy. The diagnosis was ‘Melancholia’. In the text that accompanies his portrait, William Walls’s surname is misspelt as ‘Wells’. It also states that he was ‘ill through loose living’, though there is no mention of this in the case notes.
Thomas Shuster was admitted to the Royal Edinburgh Asylum on 20 September 1878. He was 23 years old, single and described as a labourer. He lived at 5 St John’s Hill, Edinburgh and was a pauper patient from St Cuthbert’s. The diagnosis was ‘Mania’. On 23 October 1878, Shuster was discharged recovered. Between 1879 and 1885 Shuster had four further admissions, all with the diagnosis of ‘Mania’. Shuster was eventually discharged relieved on 20 October 1890. His name is spelt wrongly and he is said to have suffered a shock through disappointment in love, whereas the case notes stated that the cause of insanity was ‘fright’.
David Thomson was admitted to the Royal Edinburgh Asylum on 1 April 1882. He was 24 years old, single and described as a mason. He was from St Cuthbert’s Parish. He was said to have a hereditary predisposition and was considered to be suicidal and dangerous. In November 1899, he was transferred to Craiglockhart, ‘Not Improved’.
Charles Young was admitted to the Royal Edinburgh Asylum on 8 March 1880. He was 36 years old, single and described as a journeyman and upholsterer. He lived at 204 Rose Street and was a pauper patient from the City Parish. The diagnosis was ‘General Paralysis’ and he died of ‘General Paralysis of the Insane’ on 3 December 1882.
James McNeil was admitted to the Royal Edinburgh Asylum on 1 June 1882. He was 66 years old, single and described as a labourer. He was a pauper patient from Inveresk Combination Poorhouse. The diagnosis was ‘Melancholia’. On 12 December, he died of heart disease and softening of the brain.
| 1882 |
DEP/BRE/4/8 | Incurable Diseases - Notable Work in Edinburgh - The Scourge of Cancer | The cutting reports on the need for more beds for cancer cases at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital for Incurables according to J J Herdman, chairman of the Board of Managers; and Edwin Bramwell's comments on the utopia of medical science. | 28 Nov 1931 |
DEP/BRE/6/18/20 | Letter from J H Douglas Webster, Edinburgh, Scotland to Edwin Bramwell | He is doing research at West House and Craig House [Royal Edinburgh Hospital] on electro-convulsive therapy. | 13 Jul 1951 |
DEP/HDK | Collection of Sir David Kennedy Henderson | | 1901-1966 |
DEP/LAT/2/58 | 'Matter and Materialism' by Thomas Laycock | A lecture or article by Thomas Laycock with later additions and notes from an article by M de Luca in the Gasette Medicale de Paris, October 1863 on the weight of body parts.
In the previous catalogue other items were listed along with the lecture but it is not known whether they actually relate to it. The following letters were included: notice on the illegality of imprisoning T G Atkinson in any asylum signed by him and witnessed by Henry Beloc and George William King, June 1874; letter from Anne Lee Hardy, East and West Houses, Morningside [Royal Edinburgh Hospital] on her royal descent, 14 July 1874; letter from William Atkinson, York enclosing a letter from 'Tom' in the Coppice Asylum, Nottingham on his wrongful commitment, 15 July 1874; and letter from J L, Laurencekirk, on the case of his sister with mental illness, 21st July 1874. Also included is a certificate of emergency to authorise the detention of a patient in an asylum for a period of three days initialled by A L but probably not genuine, 28th December 1872.
The following article were included: 'The Umrit Sagur' by T H Hendley, 1874; The London Medical Record February 19 1873 and March 5 1873 (numerous articles with no indication of for which one the journals were kept); address on the brain by Dr Holmes to the Phi Beta Kappa Society, Boston, 1870; 'On the relations between body and mind and between mental and other disorders of the nervous system' by Henry Maudsley, 1870; proof of an article 'Hospitals for Inebriates', author not given; 'The stature and bulk of man in the British Isles', 1870; article on the foundation of the Liverpool Anthropological Society; letter to the Lancet with Dr Morris' criticism of Laycock's writing on spinal neuralgiae; 'On the Sensational, Emotional, Intellectual and Instinctive Capacities of the lower animals compared with those of man' by Richard Fowler; | 1863-1874 |
DEP/MAH | Collection of Henry Matthew | | 20th century |
DEP/SRA/2/12 | Letter from Professor George Robertson's secretary at Tipperlinn House, Royal Edinburgh Hospital... | He encloses a copy of the 1921 report of the Royal Edinburgh Mental Hospital as it refers to Pellagra. | 21 May 1931 |
DEP/SRA/2/13 | Letter from Professor George Robertson, Tipperlinn House, Royal Edinburgh Hospital to Ralph Stockman | Stockman had written to him asking about pellagra and he replied with brief details of the first case in Britain in 45 years which he discovered. | 25 May 1931 |
DEP/STJ/3/1/36 | [Newspaper cuttings and articles on alcohol] | From the collection of John Strong. Notes by Strong on an article on women and drinking; Alliance News - Journal on Alcohol and Drugs with an article on the probably demise of the Alcohol Forum after the sacking of Sir John Crofton, 1986; newspaper cuttings on women and drinking, licensing and the demise of the pub, drinking and driving; and a letter to the editor of The Glasgow Herald by Dr Bruce Ritson, Royal Edinburgh Hospital on the continuing relevance of Action on Alcohol Abuse's campaigning. | 1984-1987 |
DEP/STJ/3/1/42 | Letter from E B Ritson, Royal Edinburgh Hospital to Professor John Strong | He encloses a letter from Stanley Mitchell, Scottish Health Education Group who suggests that the DRAMS scheme [Drinking Reasonably and Moderately with Self Control] be extended to hospital doctors. Includes the DRAMS kit of advice and self-help diary etc. Originally in an envelope labelled by Strong 'to discuss with Bruce Ritson and Ian Young of SHEG in lieu of Stan Mitchell'. | 17 Jul 1985 |
DEP/STJ/3/1/49 | Reports from various Councils on Alcohol | From the collection of John Strong. Includes Churches Council on Alcohol & Drugs annual report 1987/88; Alcohol Misuse - a statement from the Board for Social Responsibility [of the Church of England], February 1988; Dumbarton Area Council on Alcohol annual report 1985-1986; Renfrew Council on Alcohol 8th annual report, March 1986; and The Medical Council on Alcoholism Annual Report, 1986 with a letter from E B Ritson at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital. | 1986-1988 |
DEP/STJ/3/1/64 | [Correspondence of Professor John Strong] | Correspondence with Dr M F Oliver and David Player concerning his resignation as chairman of Action on Alcohol Abuse; letter from Martin Hamblin Research on a recent study of GPs' views on alcohol abuse; letter from I F MacLaren asking for statistical information on the contribution of alcoholism to chronic pancreatitis; letter from Thomas Bewley, chairman of Action on Alcohol Abuse to Nigel Lawson, Chancellor of the Exchequer on alcohol pricing and taxation policy; memorandum from Don Steele, director of Action on Alcohol Abuse to members of the Board of Management with the Masham Committee's recommendation to ban alcohol advertising on television and including the briefing paper on advertising and sponsorship; letter from Peter McCann, director, Clouds House Alcoholism and Drug Dependency Treatment Centre enclosing a brochure advertising the new facility in Milnathort; letter from Colin Robertson, Western General Hospital to Dr Bruce Ritson, Royal Edinburgh Hospital enclosing a questionnaire on drinking, dieting and smoking to be given to all patients attending the Accident and Emergency Department; letter from R N Antebi, Duke Street Hospital, Glasgow enclosing an article titled 'Early Intervention and Controlled Drinking - Developments in Alcohol Education at the Scottish Health Education Group' by Church and Young; letters from the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh relating to the College's views on alcohol sent to Professor John Strong by J L Anderton, Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh; letter from P W Brunt, consultant physician, Gastroenterology Research Unit, Royal Infirmary, Aberdeen enclosing a letter from John Parkin of Gilbert Bain Hospital, Shetland complaining of changes in bed numbers and lack of consultation and a copy of the Professional Advisory Committee on Alcohol's report on drinking and driving; letter from Dr A M G Cochrane, chairman, Organising Committee of the Seventh International Conference on Alcohol Related Problems inviting Strong to chair a session; letter from Don Steele enclosing a letter from Nick Heather, Department of Psychiatry, Ninewells Hospital, Dundee on the lack of support from AAA in keeping his research unit going; and notes from articles and other sources by Professor John Strong on the extension of licensing hours. | Sep 1986-Sep 1988 |
DEP/STJ/3/6/1 | Letter from Bill Fraser, consultant psychiatrist, University Department of Psychiatry, Royal... | From the collection of John Strong. His letter relates to an unsuccessful conference at St Andrews and the issues around normalisation and care in the community. He encloses 'Are the medical needs of mentally handicapped adults being met?' by Gwyn Howells c1984 and 'People First - Developing Services in the Community for People with Mental Handicap', 1982. Originally in an envelope addressed to Professor John Strong. | 14 Oct 1986 |
DEP/TAH/4/15/6 | Subject file of Haldane Tait: Hospitals - Royal Edinburgh | Includes 'Focus on Change - The Royal Edinburgh Hospital 1955-1965' and 'Momentum - news letter of the Royal Edinburgh and Associated Hospitals' April 1970 | 1965-1989 |
DEP/TAH/4/19 | Subject file of Haldane Tait: Paediatrics | Includes items numbered C1(4) - reports on the International Children's Centre, 1960-1968; item numbered C2/2 'Anti-Gas Protection of Babies and Young Children'; 'The Pre-history of Child Psychiatry' by Alexander Walk, 1964; 'Unexpected postneonatal deaths (cot deaths) due to recognisable disease' by P M McWeeny and J L Emery, 1975; epidemic hysteria in schoolgirls; 'Children and the Law' by Christopher Chandler; 'The Mother Goose Syndrome - A Lighthearted Look at Paediatric Literature' by James Dunlop, 1974; copies of the Journal of Pediatrics, 1952, 1956 and 1964; 'Infant Feeders and Feeding in bygone days' by T G H Drake, The Chemist and Druggist, 1956; Pediatrics - the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, 1948; booklet on the history of the Scottish Paediatric Society, 1972; article on babyfeeders; reports of the International Congress of Paediatrics, 1968; article on 'A Primer for Youth', 1973; 'Saving Life Before Birth', World Medicine, 1965; 'Contamination of Infant Feeds in Hospital' by G A J Aycliffe et al, 1976; and catalogue for an exhibition of books, manuscripts and photographs held in the Wellcome Historical Medical Library, 1966. Untitled folder with Tait's article on 'The Evolution of Childcare in Scotland which he sent for publication in the Transactions and Studies of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia with related correspondence, 1974; letter to The Lancet on Child Health Chairs by A V Neale, 1969; 'Job Lewis Smith - New York Pioneer of Pediatrics' by Samuel Radbill, 1974; booklet on paediatric case-taking produced by Royal Edinburgh Hospital for Sick Children; and letter from Copycat Associated Marketing Ltd, Glasgow on included reproductions of title pages of medical books on obstetrics and childcare, 1950. | 1948-1976 |
DEP/WAN/6 | Correspondence of Norman Walker concerning Norman Dott | These papers (stapled together as one item) concern Norman Dott, a neurological surgeon, and his application brought before the Managers of the Royal Edinburgh Hospital to do surgical work in connection with the Jordanburn Nerve Hospital. They include letters and a report. Correspondents include J Richardson, George M Robertson, and a Mr Ferguson, members of the Medical Advisory Board along with Walker.
This item was acquired and processed separately from WAN/1-5. | Oct 1931 |
DEP/WDC | Collection of William D Chambers | | 1930-1950 |
OBJ/PAI/36 | Oil painting: Henderson, David K. | Oil on canvas, 127 x 104 cm
David K. Henderson was born in Dumfries, the youngest son of John Henderson, a solicitor. He was educated at Dumfries Academy and Royal High School, Edinburgh, then studied medicine at Edinburgh where he graduated in 1907. He was awarded his MD in 1913.
In America, Henderson was resident psychiatrist at a clinic attached to Johns Hopkins Hospital and on a second visit some years later, he was appointed assistant physician in the Psychiatric Institute of Manhattan State Hospital. Sir David served with the Royal Army Medical Corps during the First World War, and carried out important research work on psychological disorders of warfare. During the Second World War he was a member of a government committee on nervous and mental disorders in the armed forces. In 1920 he was appointed Physician Superintendent of Gartnaval Hospital, and lecturer on mental diseases at Glasgow University. He was elected to the Chair of Psychiatry at Edinburgh in 1932 and at the same time he became Physician Superintendent to the Royal Edinburgh Hospital.
Artist: David Alison | [early 20th century] |
OBJ/PAI/43 | Oil painting: McNeil, Charles | Oil on canvas, 63.5 x 53.3 cm
Born in Stranraer, Wigtonshire, Charles McNeil was the son of Dr William McNeil, a general practitioner. He was educated at George Watson's College and Edinburgh University, where he graduated with an MA in 1901, MB (First Class Honours) in 1905 and MD in 1908.
He was appointed a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh in 1913. From 1915 to 1918 he was in charge of Scottish Hospital in Rouen and was mentioned in despatches. Previous to the First World War, Dr Charles McNeil held the appointment of assistant physician in the Royal Edinburgh Hospital for Sick Children and paediatrician to the Royal Maternity Hospital. When the new Chair of Child Life and Health was founded in 1931 Dr McNeil was appointed and the title of the chair is indicative of the change in outlook from treatment of disease to prevention in its widest sense. He realised the value of special clinics and personally conducted one started by John Thomson, to help the mothers of handicapped children.
Artist: Murray McNeel Caird Urquhart | [mid 20th century] |