Recording the Diseased and Deceased: A Historical Look at Medical Illustration in 19th century Bristol

In 2012 a relic from the Medical Illustration department at the Bristol Royal Infirmary (BRI) was unearthed. The forgotten Victorian photographic album contains examples of medical photography from the late 1800s. This historic memento provides a valuable insight into the inception of medical photography at the BRI, as well as allowing 21 st century physicians to assess common Victorian ailments perhaps not regularly seen in western hospitals today. Since the initial finding of the captivating collection, presumed now to be a 19 th century surgeon's scrapbook, the author felt a certain obligation to embark on a research project with the intention of revealing more about the intriguing characters preserved in these antiquated medical photographs and to gain a greater understanding of where they fit in to the wider history of medical illustration. This research project led to the discovery of further evidence of Medical Illustration being undertaken in the region, in the form of a collection of historic drawings discovered at the Bristol Record Office.