Collection: William Clift letter to Philip Syng Physick

Scope and Contents

Letter of William Clift to Philip Syng Physick, 1835 May 8, describes care of pathological collections of John Hunter since Hunter’s death in 1793; extracts concerning pathological specimens made from Hunter’s papers and manuscripts before their destruction; production of catalogue; and current inaccessibility of museum collections due to construction in the library of the Royal College of Surgeons.

Type of reproduction--Photocopy (positive).

Dates

1835-05-08

Biographical / Historical

William Clift, English museum curator, was born in Cornwall on 14 Feb. 1775. He married Caroline Amelia Pope in 1799; their daughter, Caroline Amelia Clift, married Sir Richard Owen in 1835. Clift died in London on 20 June 1849. Clift became an apprentice to physician John Hunter in 1792; after Hunter's death, Clift was retained to care for his extensive collection of pathological specimens. When this collection was acquired by the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 1800, Clift was retained as Conservator of the Museum. He compiled a catalogue of osteological specimens in the collection.