The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Diary of a Resurrectionist, 1811-1812, by
James Blake Bailey

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Title: The Diary of a Resurrectionist, 1811-1812
To Which Are Added an Account of the Resurrection Men in
London and a Short History of the Passing of the Anatomy Act

Author: James Blake Bailey

Release Date: May 31, 2010 [EBook #32614]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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THE DIARY OF A RESURRECTIONIST

[Illustration: "THE DISSECTING ROOM." By ROWLANDSON.

The figure standing up above the rest is William Hunter; his brother John
is on his right-hand side, and Matthew Baillie is the next figure to
William Hunter on the left; Cruikshank is seated at the extreme left of
the picture, and Hewson is working on the eye of the subject on the middle
table.]

THE DIARY
OF
A RESURRECTIONIST

1811-1812

TO WHICH ARE ADDED AN ACCOUNT OF
_THE RESURRECTION MEN IN LONDON_
AND A SHORT HISTORY OF THE PASSING OF
THE ANATOMY ACT

BY
JAMES BLAKE BAILEY, B.A.

LIBRARIAN OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS OF ENGLAND

_LONDON_
SWAN SONNENSCHEIN & CO., LIM.
PATERNOSTER SQUARE
1896

INTRODUCTION

The "Diary of a Resurrectionist" here reprinted is only of a fragmentary
character. It is, however, unique in being an actual record of the doings
of one gang of the resurrection-men in London. Many persons have expressed
a wish that so interesting a document should be published; permission
having been obtained to print the Diary, an endeavour has been made to
gratify this wish. To make the reprint more interesting, and to explain
some of the allusions in the Diary, an account of the resurrection-men in
London, and a short history of the events which preceded the passing of
the Anatomy Act, have been prepared.

The great crimes of Burke and Hare drew especial attention to
body-snatching in Edinburgh, and consequently there