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  • Elizabeth Hopkins of Oxford, showing a breast with cancer which was removed by Sir William Read. Engraving by M. Burghers, ca. 1700.
  • Above, Alexis of Piedmont and Albertus Magnus; centre, William Harvey and Francis Bacon drawing aside a curtain to reveal secrets; below, Dr. R. Read, Johann Jacob Wecker, Ramon Lull. Etching by R. Gaywood, 1660.
  • Of the spleen, its description and history, uses and diseases, particularly the vapors, with their remedy. Being a lecture read at the Royal College of Physicians, London, 1722. To which is added some anatomical observations in the dissection of an elephant / [William Stukeley].
  • Eighteen books of the secrets of art and nature, being the summe and substance of naturall philosophy, methodically digested / First designed by John Wecker and now much augmented and inlarged by Dr. R. Read. [Translated by William Rowland] ; a like work never before in the English tongue.
  • Asphodeline lutea Rchb. Yellow asphodel, King's spear, Hastula regia. Hardy rhizomatous perennial. Distribution Mediterranean and Caucasus. It is the flower of the dead, as Homer writes that it carpets an area in the gloomy darkness of the underworld (Hades), in Greek mythology where the souls of the dead are found. However this may be a misinterpretation of the Greek where 'Asphodel' has been read instead of 'ash-filled'. In the etymology of flower names, it is suggested that the yellow 'daffodil' is a corruption of French or Flemish 'de asphodel' (both ex Steve Reece, 2007). An Aristotelian epigram, refers to it growing on tombs: 'On my back I hold mallow and many-rooted asphodel ...' The asphodel was sacred to Persephone, goddess of the underworld, who was seized and wed by Hades, god of the underworld, and taken to his kingdom. Her disappearance brings the winter, and her reappearance each year, the spring. The only reliable source of information about its early medical uses is, probably, Dioscorides although the plant in his De Materia Medica may be A. ramosus or A. albus. He gives its properties as diuretic, induces menses, good for coughs and convulsions, an antidote to snake bite, applied as a poultice for sores of all sorts, and in compounds for eye, ear and tooth pains, and to cure alopecia and vitiligo, but induces diarrhoea and vomiting and is an anti-aphrodisiac. Fuchs (1542), as Ruel’s commentaries (1543) note, makes a big mistake as he has Lilium martagon as his concept of A. luteus. Ruel only illustrates its leaves and roots, calling it Hastula regia (Latin for King’s spear) but Matthiolus's Commentaries (1569 edition) has a reasonable woodcut also as Hastula regia (1569). Dodoen's Cruydeboeck (1556) does not mention or illustrate Asphodelus luteus. L'Escluse's French translation Histoire des Plantes (1557) follows the Cruydeboeck. Dodoen's Latin translation Stirpium Historia Pemptades Sex (1583) adds A. luteus with text and woodcut, with no uses. Henry Lyte's (1578) translation illustrates Asphodelus luteus as Asphodeli tertia species and 'Yellow affodyl' (vide etymology of 'daffodil') and also does not describe any uses for it. Gerard's translation The Herbal (1597 and 1633) continues the muddle and does not give any uses for this plant. Parkinson's comments (1640) on the lack of medicinal properties of asphodels, refer to quite different plants coming from wet areas in Lancashire, Scotland and Norway . He calls them pseudoasphodelus major and minor which he writes are called Asphodelus luteus palustris by Dodoens, and not 'King's Spear' which he illustrates with a good woodcut of A. luteus and calls it Asphodelus luteus minor. Once herbals started to be written in northern Europe, the knowledge of the arid loving, Asphodelus luteus of south east Europe was lost. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Pensioners of the Royal Naval Hospital, Greenwich, celebrating the anniversary of Nelson's victory at Trafalgar. Engraving by J. Burnet, 1836.
  • The death of General Wolfe, at Quebec, in the background are soldiers and the masts of ships. Engraving by W. Woollett, 1776, after B. West, the elder, 1770.
  • The march to Finchley: English guards, gathering before marching to Finchley to defend London from the troops of Bonnie Prince Charlie, shown in a state of confusion and indiscipline. Etching by L. Sullivan after W. Hogarth.
  • Martha Gunn, a Brighton bather holding a small child that she has just saved from drowning. Coloured engraving by W. Nutter, 1797, after J. Russell.
  • King George III standing, in military uniform; horse in the background. Etching and stipple by B. Smith after W. Beechey, 1804.
  • King George III standing, in military uniform; horse in the background. Etching and stipple by B. Smith after W. Beechey, 1804.
  • Sarah Biffin, a limbless painter. Engraving by R.W. Sievier, 1821, after Sarah Biffin.
  • Queen Eleanor sucking the poison from King Edward's arm. Coloured stipple etching by Wynne Ryland, 1780, after A. Kauffman.
  • King James's College, Chelsea: bird's eye view looking south with boats on the river. Engraving by I. Barlow.
  • The sergeant Louis Gillet discovers a woman who had been tied to a tree by brigands and fights with the brigands to free her. Line engraving by J.G. Wille after P.A. Wille.
  • An artist seated on a rock at the sea shore and oblivious to the rising tide. Engraving by H. Rolls, 1835, after R.W. Buss.
  • The death of William II (William Rufus): William has been shot with an arrow on a hunt in a forest. Etching by T. Wallis after W. M. Craig.
  • The King William Naval Asylum, Penge. Wood engraving, 1849.
  • St. Peter's College, Westminster: a Royal procession by night. Lithograph, 1834.
  • William of Orange, and Mary, his English wife are presented with the English crown by the Marquis of Halifax. Line engraving by J. Parker after J. Northcote, 1790.
  • King Richard II as described by William Shakespeare. Drawing after J.H. Mortimer.
  • King Richard III, sleeping in the night before the battle of Bosworth Field, is arraigned by seven ghosts, who tell him to "Despair and die". Engraving by E. Kirkall, 1709, after F. Boitard.
  • Polyphemus attacking the companions of Odysseus and their ships, or the companions and ships of Aeneas. Etching with engraving.
  • The post-boy : from Saturday January 25. to Tuesday January 28. 1723. Numb. 5386, On Saturday arrived the mail from France : Madrid, Jan. 16. N.S. The catholick King, Philip V. having taken a resolution to make an absolute renunciation of the crown of Spain, in favour of his eldest son.
  • The post-boy : from Saturday January 25. to Tuesday January 28. 1723. Numb. 5386, On Saturday arrived the mail from France : Madrid, Jan. 16. N.S. The catholick King, Philip V. having taken a resolution to make an absolute renunciation of the crown of Spain, in favour of his eldest son.
  • William Harvey demonstrating the palpitations of the foetal heart of a deer to Charles I. Engraving by H. Lemon, 1851, after an oil painting by R. Hannah, 1848.
  • William Harvey demonstrating the palpitations of the foetal heart of a deer to Charles I. Engraving by H. Lemon, 1851, after an oil painting by R. Hannah, 1848.
  • The three witches hover over Macbeth and Banquo (?). Etching.
  • Alexander I of Russia taking leave of Friedrich Wilhelm III and his wife, Luise von Mecklenburg-Strelitz, next to the tomb of Frederick the Great. Aquatint by J. Berka after S. Le Gros, 1806.
  • David Garrick in the rôle of Richard III, awakening from his nightmare in the tent with military activities in the background. Etching by W. Hogarth and C. Grignion after W. Hogarth.