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Autograph Document describing 'The Police Establishment of Edinburgh' written by George Combe for Arthur West of Bath, 11 April 1838

 Item
Identifier: Coll-1848/25-0059/7

Scope and Contents

Autograph document about "the Police Establishment of Edinburgh" written by Scottish phrenologist and lawyer George Combe, at the attention of Arthur West, of Bath. Dated 11 April 1838.

Text is neatly written out in two columns. The first is headed "In the Watching department", and contains twelve entries from "1 Superintendent" to "2 Female [Turnkeys]", including "30 Night Patrole men" and "166 night watchmen". The second column is headed "In the cleaning department", and consists of four entries from "1 Head overseer" to "5 depot keepers", with "96 Scavengers". Beneath this are given details "In the Lighting department", beginning "Paid for gas Light 1 year - £3052". Beneath this are seven lines of text on the subject, including: 'The lamps are lighted at sunset. One half of them is put out at 12 O.C. [O'Clock] & the other half burns till one hour before sunrise." The population of the city is given at the foot of the first column: "162.400".

Dates

  • Creation: 11 April 1838

Creator

Language of Materials

English

Conditions Governing Access

Open. Please contact the repository in advance.

Full Extent

1 letter

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Purchased in April 2025. Accession no. SC-Acc-2025-0059.

Physical Description

1p, 4to. Bifolium. In good condition, lightly aged, with minor traces of glue from mount at head of reverse of second leaf, which is addressed, with broken seal in red wax, to "Arthur West Esq | Beeching [i.e. modern-day 'Beechen'] Cliff | Bath."

Processing Information

Catalogued by Aline Brodin in September 2025, using information provided by the seller.

Repository Details

Part of the University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections Repository

Contact:
Centre for Research Collections
University of Edinburgh Main Library
George Square
Edinburgh EH8 9LJ Scotland
+44(0)131 650 8379