200 Years 200 Objects

200 Years 200 ObjectsM A R K D I O N 200 YEAR S / 200 O B J EC TS 1 200 Years 200 Objects M A R K D I O N An Object for Each Year An exhibition realised in collaboration with The University of Edinburgh’s Talbot Rice Gallery 2 20 0 Y E AR S / 200 OB JEC T S 200 Objects 1813 1814 1815 1816 1817 1818 1819 1820 1821 1822 1823 1824 1825 1826 1827 1828 1829 1830 1831 1832 1833 1834 Minute Book Vol. 1 One Guinea Note Soap Dish Minute Book Vol. 2 Portrait of Henry Erskine Andrew Duncan Letter Certiﬁcation Paper A Lady’s Black Glove 35 Beds Tuke Commemorative Plate Figurine Well Bucket Meeting Adjourned Sign Pinel Commemorative Plate A Horse and Cart Shrouded Mirror Potato 35 Figures Chalice Invoice for Annual Fee Pewter Plate Phrenology Head 1839 Gardening Tools 1840 Photograph of Clouston’s Birthplace 1841 Portrait of Victoria and Albert 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 Donation Box Research Folder Map Showing Bedlam Type Set Block Book of Recommendations Skulls 1848 Article Describing a Hallucination 1849 1850 1851 1852 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 Vegetables Laudanum Cabinet Tally Stick Cofﬁn for a Robin Bobbing Apples Valentine’s Day Card Fez and an Exotic Hat Curling Stone Syphilitic Skull Obituary Silver Teapot Admission Certiﬁcate 1853 Alcoholic Drink and Silver Salver 1835 Book on Bloodletting and Medical Cupping Glasses 1836 1837 1838 Portrait of Sir William Fettes New Plans Clerical Collar 1862 Poem ‘Curling Song’, Published in the Morningside Mirror 1863 1864 1865 1866 Board Books Inhalers Drawing of a Chair Red Stick 200 YEAR S / 200 O B J EC TS 3 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 Regulation Book Shower Head Doll’s Arm Billiard Balls Patient Drawings Dogs Portrait of Thomas Clouston Notice Patient Drawings Patient Letter 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 Celebratory Menu Cookbook Iron Nail Billiards Medal Penknife Pamphlet of Rules Tailor’s Scissors Tools Used by Upholsterers Golf Medal Snow Shovel Annual Report Cigar 100 Candles Model of a Theatre Dispensing Book 1877 Sheet Music of ‘As it Fell Upon the Day’ 1878 Magic Lantern 1879 ‘Asylum or Hospital Home’ Booklet 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 Metal Plan Box Men of Medicine Photograph Drawings of Patients Pin Used in Suicide Attempt Beer Flagon Two Keys Portrait of Elizabeth Bevan Dix Commemorative Plate 1904 1000 Patient Letters 1910 ‘Object Temporarily Removed for Restoration’ Sign 1911 1912 A Wasp in a Box Guinea Pig 1913 ‘Object Temporarily Removed for Restoration’ Sign 1914 Photograph of Lieutenant Huddlestone 1915 1916 Lead Figures Mirror 1888 Collection of Padlocks 1880 – 1960 1889 1890 Glass Marble Invitation 1891 Photographic Reconstruction of a Ghost 1892 1893 Patient Drawing Pathology Book 1917 ‘Reminiscences and Stories of a Certiﬁed Lunatic’ 1918 1919 Conﬁdential Files Dispensing Book 1920 Rules and Regulations from West House 4 20 0 Y E AR S / 200 OB JEC T S 1921 1922 Hand Saw Chamber Pot 1948 National Health Service Pamphlet 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 ECT Machine Straightjacket Photograph of a Bagpiper Full-body Straightjacket Croquet Set Man Playing Bowls Aversion Therapy Chair Commemorative Plate Glass Syringes ‘The Practical Woodturner’ 1923 ‘Conﬂict and Dreams’ WHR Rivers 1924 1925 1926 1927 Ward Light Floor Plans for West House Spent Matches Tailors’ Workbook 1928 ‘Object Removed for Further Study’ Sign 1929 Photograph of Dormitory 1930 Photograph of Pinel Commemoration 1931 Repaired China 1932 Portrait of David Kennedy Henderson 1933 1934 Closed Portfolio Sports Day Coverage 1959 Photograph of the New Hen House 1960 LSD Blotter 1961 Occupational Therapy Photographs 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 The Morningside Mirror Newspaper Advertisement Instruction Poster Doll Press Photograph 1935 ‘Objects Removed for Picnic’ Sign 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 The Escape Book Article on Miss Thyne Early ECT Machine Daily Mirror Steam Water Boiler Unusual Potatoes Happy the Donkey Battle Fatigued Soldiers Rules and Regulations Sign Two Hats Ice Pick Repurposed Newspaper 1967 Painting of James Wigham Afﬂeck 1968 Nurses’ Capes 1969 Behavioural Research and Therapy Books 1970 1971 1972 1973 Microphone U-matic Videotape Interview Chair Wooden Ducks 200 YEAR S / 200 O B J EC TS 5 1974 ‘Object Removed for Renaming’ Sign 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 Film Reel Sea Trawler Mug A Pile of Stones Facsimile of Test Patient Craftwork Cat Basket Weaving Kit Christmas Decorations A Garden Fork Detention Papers Smashed Goldﬁsh Bowl 2002 2003 2004 2005 Model of a House Detention Forms Hairdressing Scissors Jigsaw Pieces 2006 Photographs from the Patients’ Council 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Innovative Practice Award 60th Birthday Card Military Food Tin Patient Drawing Union Banners Gnome Door Bell and Hammer 1986 ‘Wild Haemorrhages of the Imagination’ 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 Poem Written by a Nurse Three Trophy Plinths Red Paint Sample Card Violin Clay Flowerpots Model of a House Postcard/Souvenirs Small Silver Bell Newsletter 1997 Tipperlinn Bowling Club Brochure 1998 1999 2000 2001 Video Training Pack Metal Union Badges Giant Bird Mobile Coffee Jar, Mug and Spoon 6 20 0 Y E AR S / 200 OB JEC T S 1813 200 Years 200 Objects M A R K D I O N Minute Book Vol. 1 The ﬁrst patient was admitted on the 19th July 1813. An entry in this book reports Andrew Duncan composing a letter to be sent to all Edinburgh medical practitioners stating ‘the asylum is now open for the reception of patients of the middle and higher ranks.’ The following text accompanies the Mark Dion exhibition to commemorate the bicentenary of the Royal Edinburgh Hospital. 1814 One Guinea Note On the 31st January it was recorded that six patients had been admitted since the Asylum opened. The fee was one guinea a week. Miniature of Andrew Duncan The foundation of the Royal Edinburgh Hospital was triggered by the wretched death in Bedlam of the poet Robert Fergusson, aged 24. His friend Dr Andrew Duncan was so affected, he resolved to fund a hospital in Edinburgh where the mentally ill could be humanely looked after. In 1792 he launched an appeal for funds and, in 1806, the villa of Morningside and four acres were purchased with a parliamentary grant. In 1809 the foundation stone was laid, and the Edinburgh Lunatic Asylum was opened in 1813, this original building later being known as East House. A lock of Robert Fergusson’s hair is contained under glass on reverse of the portrait. 1815 Soap Dish ‘The managers have also not been inattentive to the comforts of the patients, having erected proper stoves for heating’. They also plumbed water into the building and installed baths. Baths were to feature heavily in the treatment of patients in the 1800s. 200 YEAR S / 200 O B J EC TS 7 1816 Minute Book Vol. 2 The ﬁrst regulations of the Edinburgh Lunatic Asylum are recorded in the minutes. Examples include 1) admissions of patients require certiﬁcation 2) the patients admitted into the Asylum shall be divided into such classes as the managers may direct and 12) no person whatever shall be allowed to visit any patient in the Asylum without (…) permission in writing. 1820 A Lady’s Black Glove The ﬁrst unclaimed item in the Asylum’s lost and found. 1821 35 Beds Patient numbers ﬂuctuated over the year. On the 21st January there were 24 patients, increasing to 35 and then falling back to 26 by the 1st January 1822. The Asylum was meant to accommodate only 20 patients. The number of residents continued to be greater than the building’s capacity and the managers resolved to pursue their building programme. 1817 Portrait of Henry Erskine Erskine and Andrew Duncan were originally classmates at St Andrews. He proved a powerful friend for, as Lord Advocate, Erskine was instrumental in obtaining the £2,000 grant which funded the purchase of land, and also expedited the Asylum’s Royal Charter, obtained in 1807. 1822 Tuke Commemorative Plate Death of William Batty Tuke, an early pioneer of humane psychiatry and commemorated on a plaque on the side of McKinnon House. Tuke led attempts by Quakers to set up an alternative to harsh institutions, and in 1790 opened the York Retreat. His humane approach was derided at ﬁrst, before becoming renowned as a better way of care. This portrait was created recently by Jeanette Bell. 1818 Andrew Duncan Letter Duncan writes of the death of Robert Fergusson – ‘The loss of Reason is perhaps the most deplorable disease to which a rational being can be subjected’. 1819 Certiﬁcation Paper The Asylum was keen to establish ofﬁcial, witnessed, documentation for admissions. 8 20 0 Y E AR S / 200 OB JEC T S 1823 Figurine January minutes: ‘At the end of the ninth year of the Edinburgh Lunatic Asylum (…) the management have great satisfaction in being able to state (…) that the experience of every day continues to afford them additional evidence of the beneﬁts resulting from the institution under their care.’ 1824 Well Bucket The minutes record that the ‘force pump’ is frequently out of order, compelling the servants to carry water in buckets to meet all Asylum needs. 200 YEAR S / 200 O B J EC TS 9 1825 Meeting Adjourned Sign ‘It has been impossible to get a meeting of the management on the last Thursday of October on account of them having been absent in the country.’ 1826 Pinel Commemorative Plate The death of Philippe Pinel, the French psychiatrist who released patients from chains and restraints in Parisian asylums at the time of the Revolution. He is celebrated as the founder of humane psychiatric care, and his sculpture portrait was placed near the old entrance to Mackinnon House a century after his death. Pinel greatly inﬂuenced treatment of the insane in Great Britain, Europe and America, shifting emphasis away from punishment toward understanding. The insane were no longer seen as possessed by demons, akin to beasts, or choosing their own irrationality, but individuals with illnesses brought on by external or internal conditions outside their control. This portrait was created recently by a patient. 1827 A Horse and Cart The minutes record a ‘suggestion’ by a Mr Hughes, that, as he has frequent occasion to travel on Asylum business between Morningside and the town, the purchase of a horse and cart might save time and relieve fatigue. 1828 Shrouded Mirror The death of founder Andrew Duncan. He was 84 years old. 1829 Potato ‘The managers resolve to keep in view the creating of proper plans to create a pauper hospital.’ The old town is overcrowded and unsanitary, its population swollen by the rural poor and an increase in Irish immigrants ﬂeeing the ﬁrst wave of the potato famine. 10 2 0 0 Y EAR S / 200 OB JEC T S 1830 35 Figures The Asylum notes that on the 1st January, of the 35 patients resident in the hospital, 28 may be reckoned ‘incurable’, suggesting the possibility of release for the remaining seven. The previous year, eight patients had been released as ‘improved’. Although the numbers are small, it is a marked improvement on previous practice. 1833 Pewter Plate ‘Pewter dishes were ordered on the recommendation of the Medical Gentleman to be substituted in place of those at present in use at the Asylum.’ 1834 Phrenology Head Phrenology is a now-discredited theory based on the idea that measurements of the human skull could reveal character. It was very popular in the early nineteenth century, and the British centre of expertise was Edinburgh. The underlying idea that certain human emotions and functions are held in localised parts of the brain was, however, an advance towards modern neuropsychology. 1831 Chalice ‘In consequence of it having been understood that in some other lunatic institutions, Divine Service in the form of family worship is regularly performed (...) the managers resolve to make trial of it in their own Asylum and have great hope of it having a salutary inﬂuence.’ 1832 Invoice for Annual Fee In this year a Mr Hardie requested a reduction in the rate of board for his brother, on account of the long time he had been resident, The board granted a reduction to £30 per annum, the equivalent of some £22,800 in today’s money. As many patients stayed in the Asylum for the rest of their lives, the cost to families could be substantial. 1835 Book on Bloodletting and Medical Cupping Glasses Purging and bloodletting were very common medical practices of the period, applied not only for physical disease, but also for psychological symptoms. 200 YEAR S / 200 O B J EC TS 1 1 1836 Portrait of Sir William Fettes The founder of Fettes College, he was a Trustee of the Asylum from its opening, and later Deputy Governor. He campaigned locally for funds, and died in this year, a few days after negotiations began to provide new accommodation. sporting activities such as curling, and patients took part in competitions with other curling clubs. 1840 Photograph of Dr Clouston’s Birthplace In this year, in Birsay, Orkney, Thomas Clouston was born into a settled farming family. He grew up to be Scotland’s most eminent psychiatrist and Physician Superintendent of the Royal Edinburgh Asylum. 1837 New Plans Mr Burn, architect, draws up plans for the Asylum’s expansion, including a new building to house poor patients. 1841 Portrait of Victoria and Albert A Special Meeting of 5 February records Queen Victoria’s patronage, and quotes her letter: ‘You are quite at liberty to announce… that the queen has given a donation of 100 pounds and the prince Albert 50 pounds to the lunatic asylum and that it is her majesty’s wish, or desire, or permission, or by what technical phrase I know not (use which you like best) that it be named the Royal Edinburgh Asylum.’ 1838 Clerical Collar ‘The chairman called the attention of the meeting to the labours of their chaplain Mr MacLean which were continued with unabated.’ Mr MacLean was granted a bonus of £10 in addition to his salary. 1839 Gardening Tools The position of Physician Superintendent was created, and the ﬁrst to hold the ofﬁce was Dr William Mackinnon. Under his direction patients were encouraged to use whatever trade or skill they possessed. Occupations included gardening, pig farming, poultry keeping, carpentry, tailoring, and sewing. He also encouraged 1842 Donation Box West House, now called Mackinnon House, opens its doors to poor patients. 12 2 0 0 Y EAR S / 200 OB JEC T S 1843 Research Folder Commentaries on the causes, forms, symptoms, and treatment, moral and medical, of insanity. He was especially interested in the classiﬁcation of mental illness, and began to develop the Asylum’s reputation as a postgraduate training centre. 1847 Skulls Minutes detail the numbers of patients, discharges and deaths. Of the 262 female patients this year, 11 were discharged cured, 9 were discharged more or less improved and 8 died. Over the same period there were 254 male patients, 8 discharged cured, 4 discharged more or less improved and 9 died. 1844 Map Showing Bedlam All remaining inmates from the old Bedlam are moved to the Asylum. Conditions at the Bedlam, which was attached to the Edinburgh Charity Workhouse, were notoriously awful. Patients were treated as inmates, locked in stone-ﬂagged cells, sometimes in shackles, with only straw for bedding. 1845 Type Set Block The ﬁrst edition of the Hospital newspaper, the ‘Morningside Mirror’, was produced and printed by patients and staff within the Asylum and published on the 15th September. It was sold in local shops. 1848 Article Describing a Hallucination An issue of the Morningside Mirror includes patient testimony of a disturbing incident. ‘I happened to look up a moment from my book and was not a little astonished to see that the ﬁreplace and guard had entirely disappeared and an immense human face usurped their place.’ 1846 Book of Recommendations A printed book of references, including a letter of application, relating to Dr David Skae. These were apparently well received, for he succeeded William Mackinnon as Superintendent. 200 YEAR S / 200 O B J EC TS 1 3 1849 Vegetables ‘During the last quarter there has been little permanent sickness in the Asylum. Although a few cases of diarrhoea have reoccurred, this may have been occasioned by the state of the weather and a little change of diet which has taken place in the use of turnips in alternate days with the potato.’ 1850 Laudanum Cabinet Few drugs were available to physicians at this time. Laudanum, a mixture of 10% opium and 90% alcohol ﬂavoured with cinnamon or saffron was commonly used as a painkiller, sleeping pill, or sedative. 14 2 0 0 Y EAR S / 200 OB JEC T S 1851 Tally Stick EXPERT INTERVIEW Alison Meiklejohn Head of Occupational Therapy ‘They say the tally stick was placed by the Hospital exit, so that patients going out for the night to visit ‘a special friend’ could cut a notch in the stick. That way, staff could keep track of how many left the building. That raises many questions, though – you can’t remove a notch, so how did they count the patients back? And how did they know it was the same patients? It seems a system open to abuse. And you’d need a new stick every day. This term ‘special friends’ is interesting, because it suggests a tolerance of sexual activity, as long as it was away from the Hospital. We think of the Victorians as very straight-laced, but this indicates an allowance for human needs. But I imagine this allowance extended only to male patients. The stick makes me think of the phrase ‘a notch on your belt’, or bedpost, that idea of a ‘notch’ referring to a sexual encounter. At that time, most of the patients were long-term and fee-paying, the Hospital was their home, and the staff knew them well. That probably meant a more relaxed regime, not like our acute wards today where there is such a rapid turnover of patients. There is still a sense that sexual activity is something that should happen beyond the conﬁnes of the Hospital. Often for good reason. It’s a communal space, and people are often vulnerable. But if someone makes an informed choice that they want to have a relationship with someone – who are we to say that they can’t, or shouldn’t. The question is how to support that in a digniﬁed way.’ 200 YEAR S / 200 O B J EC TS 1 5 1852 Cofﬁn for a Robin A Mr C befriended a robin from the Asylum grounds. The bird was so tame it rarely left Mr C’s company and shared his meals. Mr C just had to call “Rob, Rob!” and the robin would ﬂy to him. Sadly, Rob was eaten by a cat. 1856 Fez and an Exotic Hat The Morningside Mirror reports some patients walking down to Leith to enjoy ‘a very expansive tea’. While there, they were presented with a hookah and a fez, which enlivened their long walk back to Morningside. 1853 Alcoholic Drink and Silver Salver The patients wished to buy a present for a departing doctor, James Sherlock. They decided to give him a drinking cup, but a strong temperance element refused to contribute, and so he was given a silver salver instead. 1857 Curling Stone A patient almost drowned trying to rescue two curling stones that broke through the ice of the duck pond during a competition. He was rewarded with free brandy and dry stockings by the Humane Society. 1854 Bobbing Apples Ninetenth century Health and Safety: Fears of cholera prevented the patients from enjoying their customary Halloween apple bobbing. Only a few apples were permitted at the party, from the Hospital’s own harvest stores. 1858 Syphilitic Skull After the 1857 Lunacy Act, better records were required for patients and the registration of deaths. This skull shows the effects of acquired syphilis, a relatively common condition that, in its late stages, led to general paresis, a kind of dementia. It was to be one of the ﬁrst mental illnesses proven to have an organic cause. 1855 Valentine’s Day Card A male patient received a mysterious Valentine’s Day card from an unknown admirer who wanted – according to the card – an opportunity to gaze into his ‘verdant green eyes’. 16 2 0 0 Y EAR S / 200 OB JEC T S 1859 Obituary The Morningside Mirror includes an obituary for the ﬁrst matron of the Asylum, Jane Upton McDougall. ‘Her departure from amongst us, with whom she spent nearly the whole of the last 20 years… has cast a gloom over us of no ordinary kind.’ 1860 Silver Teapot ‘On Saturday evening, an entertainment was given to the patients who are engaged in the Laundry and Washing Room (…) tea and cookies were handed round. After satisfying themselves with these delicacies, the place was then prepared for a dance.’ 200 YEAR S / 200 O B J EC TS 1 7 1861 Admission Certiﬁcate EXPERT INTERVIEW Maggie McIvor and Shirley Gowers The Patients’ Council ‘This paper commits a Mary Calder of Leith to the Hospital, and describes her as ‘deranged’. I believe it wasn’t a very easy era to be a patient – not a lot was understood about mental health. Nowadays you’re either a voluntary patient or sectioned, not so different from Mary’s experience. And it’s witnessed by a doctor and a medical ofﬁcer, in the same way as there are various signatures here. The big difference now is that a patient has a right of appeal, which I don’t think Mary did. The law now calls for ‘least restrictive’ treatment to be offered. Some of the wording makes you feel dreadful – ‘insane’, ‘deranged’, even ‘asylum’ – which actually used to mean ‘place of safety’. Any terminology used to describe mental ill health eventually carries a stigma and gets replaced by other terminology. I sometimes think it’s silly – I know what I’ve got, I don’t need the government making up fancy names – skipping around the edges of things. People were committed back then for reasons we now wouldn’t consider grounds for insanity. Women were sometimes put away because they found themselves pregnant outside marriage. This woman could be ‘deranged’ from losing her temper. I’d love to know what happened to her. When you come in to hospital, it’s something new you have to face and you don’t feel well. I’ve been in and out of hospital quite a few times, but each time is like the ﬁrst, because you’re not thinking properly, you just feel frightened, and that blanks out everything.’ 18 2 0 0 Y EAR S / 200 OB JEC T S 1862 Poem ‘Curling Song’, Published in the Morningside Mirror ‘Our curlers met at Morningside, In ruddy health and social glee; More happy men, on winter’s day. Ye couldna meet or wish to see…’ 1866 Red Stick The Athletic Games were introduced for the ﬁrst time in 1865. Soon there were 14 categories ranging from ‘throwing the cricket ball’ to ‘Highland dancing’. Prizes ranged from pipes and snuff boxes to a red stick for second prize in the hurdle race. 1863 Board Books Male and female patients were kept in separate sections of the Asylum, and kept track of in separate registers. These detailed how much was paid for board and any arrears owing. 1867 Regulation Book Rules and regulations. 1868 Shower Head Water treatments (hydrotherapies) of various forms were widely used in asylums as a medical remedy, often to calm excitement, sometimes to stimulate. Some therapies sounded more like punishment than panacea. One of these was the ‘bath of surprise’, a reservoir of water into which the patient was suddenly precipitated while standing on its moveable and treacherous cover. 1864 Inhalers Dr Nelson ﬁrst patented his ceramic inhalers in 1864. They were used to clear congestion of the lungs, a common condition in ‘Auld Reekie’. 1865 Drawing of a Chair In response to ‘a considerable want’ of garden furniture, a patient described as ‘an ingenious and laborious mechanic’ set about making outdoor seats from windfall wood he found in the grounds. They met with great approval, described in the ‘Morningside Mirror’ as ‘Not of a coarse and temporary nature, but neat, ornamental and substantial’. 1869 Doll’s Arm A doll’s arm was discovered during renovations, wrapped in an 1869 Morningside Mirror. 200 YEAR S / 200 O B J EC TS 1 9 1870 Billiard Balls ‘The grand annual Billiard Belt competition… has again been held this season... the contest began on the 23rd, and lasted four days, two hours each day.’ Indoor and outdoor activities of a sporting nature continued to be an important part of Asylum life. 1872 Dogs ‘A party from the Asylum went to see the Dog Show, which had for three days been attracting crowds to the Gymnasium. Every variety, from the huge mastiff to the tiny lapdog, was to be seen…’ 1871 Patient Drawings Drawings by Andrew Kennedy, including portraits of Asylum physicians with breasts. Many of his works are preserved in Lothian Health Services Archive. 20 2 0 0 Y EAR S / 200 OB JEC T S 1873 Portrait of Dr Thomas Clouston Thomas Clouston was the third and greatest of the nineteenth century Physician Superintendents. Appointed in 1873, he did more than anyone in Scotland to gain recognition for the plight of the mentally ill and to transform psychiatry into a recognised specialty. He redesigned the prison-like features of the East and West Houses, and masterminded the building of Craig House. While emphasising the necessity for discipline and order, he also saw the need for pleasant living conditions, a generous diet, and active work. Through his lectureship in the University of Edinburgh, his ‘Annual Reports’ and published writings, Clouston sought to educate the profession and the public alike. He retired after 35 years service and was knighted in 1911. 1875 Patient Drawings Dr Clouston delivered a lecture with the carefully considered title ‘On Mental Health’, it explored the concept that the term ‘health’ could be applied to the mind just as much as to the body. These drawings were completed by a patient and likely used by Skae and Clouston as lecture prompts. 1874 Notice ‘Any person leaving this door open will be ﬁned sixpence.’ No detail of hospital organisation was too small for the attention of Thomas Clouston. 1876 Patient Letter Headed ‘Robert Low Yule… Record of Miracles’, this letter itemises the vivid delusions he has experienced, including ‘A Smith casting a wry look at me, jumped from the ﬂoor to a height of about 9 feet, then passed through a framed picture (without injury thereto) and through a solid 14 inch stone wall… ’. 200 YEAR S / 200 O B J EC TS 2 1 1877 Sheet Music of ‘As it Fell Upon the Day’ A song performed by Mrs Clouston at an amateur concert to mark the opening of the new dining hall. The audience included ‘about 500 of the inmates, and a considerable number of ladies and gentlemen in full dress, friends and guests of Dr and Mrs Clouston’. 1881 Men of Medicine Photograph Clouston among his peers. The photograph was gifted to him by Dr Hack Tuke. 1882 Drawings of Patients These portraits of Asylum patients were commissioned by Thomas Clouston from the artist John Myles. They were included in a hand painted book entitled Bruised Reeds, with notes on the patients’ various conditions. It was probably used as a teaching aid. 1878 Magic Lantern On a January evening, the inmates of the institution were favoured with a Magic Lantern Entertainment given by a Mr Sinclair. 1883 Pin Used in Suicide Attempt The pin is accompanied by a letter describing the incident. 1879 ‘Asylum or Hospital Home’ Booklet This booklet by Clouston sets out his 44 principles of construction – theories of what makes a good, modern asylum. He would soon get the chance to test these out in the massive building programme at Craig House. The needs of the individual appear to be at the forefront of his mind. 1884 Beer Flagon On the 17th July, 120 people from West House went to the Pentland Hills for a grand picnic. During the nineteenth century, beer was allowed to patients. 1880 Metal Plan Box In planning new additions to his Asylum, Clouston recruited the help of a patient, a former draughtsman, ‘who took a great interest in the matter’. 22 2 0 0 Y EAR S / 200 OB JEC T S 1885 Two Keys The West and East Houses each had a head male attendant and a matron who supervised the day-to-day running of the institution. Attendants worked long hours, living with their charges night and day under the same roof. They frequently had to contend with the violent and unruly behaviour of their patients, and were vulnerable to disciplinary action if they showed excessive force. They were not well paid, had few holidays and were only allowed to marry with the permission of the Superintendent. 1887 Dix Commemorative Plate The death of Dorothea Dix, an American social reformer who campaigned for better treatment of the mentally ill, especially the poor. She is commemorated with a cameo at Mackinnon House. This portrait was created recently by a Jeanette Bell. 1888 Collection of Padlocks 1880 – 1960 Lecture by Dr Clouston on Mental Nursing: ‘The object of treatment must be to arrest this downward course – the patient must be placed under supervision, his violence controlled, his bad habits reformed, and he must be kept warm and well fed’. 1886 Portrait of Elizabeth Bevan The granddaughter of Andrew Duncan, Elizabeth Bevan left a generous bequest to the Asylum of £5000 plus the residue of her estate. It was speciﬁed that it be for the comfort of those patients of higher rank and education who had fallen on hard times. Philanthropists and social reformers, motivated by Christian values and middle class ideals, played a signiﬁcant role in bringing about change. 1889 Glass Marble An article in the Morningside Mirror discusses boisterous medical students, including a chap who had loosed a marble from the top tier of the lecture theatre. ‘It came slowly rolling down, giving a dump then a short roll, and so on until it stopped in front of the Professor’s desk.’ 1890 Invitation The commemoration stone is laid for New Craig House on Easter Craiglockhart Hill. 200 YEAR S / 200 O B J EC TS 2 3 1891 Photographic Reconstruction of a Ghost Old Craig House, a 16th century building beside New Craig, is reported to be haunted by The Green Lady. Reputed to be the wife of Sir Thomas Elphinstone, she was stabbed by her husband in a jealous rage. He died from remorse, and they were buried together. The ghost is said to appear in the green dress she wore at the time of her death. 1895 Cookbook This well-used book belonged to the Head Cook. 1896 Iron Nail A nail from the roof of Old Craig House, attached to a golf score card. 1892 Patient Drawing A drawing of ‘Tam O’Swanston on the Pentland Hills’ by John Willis Mason. 1897 Billiards Medal Craig House Billiards Medal. Sporting activities were often an arena where staff and patients met on equal ground. 1893 Pathology Book Dr William Ford Robertson was appointed as Resident Pathologist; he was to make a signiﬁcant contribution to the medical pathology of insanity. 1898 Penknife Penknife used by Miss M R in a suicide attempt. With it is a letter describing the incident. 1894 Celebratory Menu New Craig House and its villas were formally opened by the Asylum Governor, the Duke of Buccleuch. At the time, it was the largest, and considered the most progressive, asylum in the world. East House was demolished and private patients moved to Craig House. 1899 Pamphlet of Rules Craig House Nurses’ and Attendants’ Rules. 1900 Tailors’ Scissors In this year, in addition to making numerous new items of clothing, the tailors’ workshop at the Asylum repaired 678 pairs of trousers. 24 2 0 0 Y EAR S / 200 OB JEC T S 1901 Tools Used by Upholsterers Used to repair furniture, but could have also been employed to create the holes for string fastenings on straightjackets, which were made at the Asylum. 1902 Golf Medal Royal Edinburgh Asylum Golf Club medal. There was a small golf course in the grounds of Craig House. There was also a skittle alley outside West House, and the Asylum employed a professional cricketer. Patients paid him to bowl to them. 200 YEAR S / 200 O B J EC TS 2 5 1903 Snow Shovel EXPERT INTERVIEW George Todd Sector Estates Manager ‘I was told by our roofer that there were shovels clipped up in the rafters. When I went searching, there was only this and a broken one left. It’s very old and fragile. The roof of Mackinnon House has two ridges and a centre valley that takes the water off. The snow can build up there, and once it gets higher than the slates it starts to leak in to the building. That’s why you need to take the snow off. A hundred years ago, there’d be a guy going up and just shovelling the snow and throwing it up over the peaks of the roof to the other side. It’s the same job, except now we have to have tie-points all along the roof that they can harness onto. The risk is the same as 100 years ago, but now we have to take the risk out of it. We use plastic shovels, light and easy to maintain. This one is more handmade, and the reason the blade is made of wood is the same reason we use plastic, what we call ‘sacriﬁcial’ – the thing you use to scrape should be softer than the material you’re scraping. It doesn’t damage the slate. We get snow almost every year. Up on the roof, you can see so far, you see the snow coming in. In autumn we have to go up and do the same with leaves, and in the summer, it’s the heavy rain.’ 26 2 0 0 Y EAR S / 200 OB JEC T S 1904 1000 Patient Letters EXPERT INTERVIEW Professor Ronnie Jack Patients’ Council ‘The ﬁrst thing that struck me was the similarities from then until now of the worries being expressed in the letters. For example, high on the list (and very high on my own list), was that of tedium. The day is very long if your mind is doing things you don’t want it to do. Next, would be lack of privacy. I was put in a room on my own, and latterly moved into a ward of four but the letters here talk of wards of 22 beds. Another parallel would be complaints about lack of contact with the consultant. What is different is their stricter regimentation, being forced to rise early and go to bed late and the day being very structured. Also, the sad letters of entrapment – people told they were going on holiday or something, only to ﬁnd themselves in the asylum. And the marked brutality of the staff – that wouldn’t get by now. But whether the patients’ experiences were actual or paranoiac, you can’t tell. The letters were written by patients while they were still ill, whether they acknowledged it or not, and the immediacy of that comes across and made me feel very sad, especially those letters of appeal to family or friends to come and visit, when perhaps family have thought, ‘Thank god she’s locked up and safe out of the way.’ 200 YEAR S / 200 O B J EC TS 2 7 1905 Annual Report It is recorded in the 93rd annual report that there are now 870 patients in the Asylum. There was considerable overcrowding. 1909 Dispensing Book Secret Remedies; What They Cost and What They Contain Extemporaneous Dispensing Book, published by the British Medical Association. 1906 Cigar Sigmund Freud begins a correspondence with Carl Jung. 1910 ‘Object Removed for Restoration’ Sign An extra large safety pin was conﬁscated from a patient who had swallowed and recovered it more then ﬁfty times. 1907 100 Candles To mark the Royal Edinburgh’s ﬁrst centenary, a garden party is held in the grounds of Craig House, featuring a marching brass band. Over 1500 guests attend. 1908 Model of a Theatre Dr Clouston’s handwriting was famously illegible. He once wrote an indecipherable letter to a patient, which the patient kept, as it had a very ofﬁcial look. He presented it to a chemist and was given medicine, he took it to the theatre and was awarded a private box, he was even able to travel via a private train car to London by the power of this unintelligible document. 28 2 0 0 Y EAR S / 200 OB JEC T S 1911 A Wasp in a Box EXPERT INTERVIEW Neville Singh Psychiatric Nurse ‘This story of the patient with the pet wasp in a matchbox brought to mind the Birdman of Alcatraz or the prisoner in the ﬁlm, The Green Mile, who kept a mouse in a box, another matchbox, I think. Two prisoners with precious pets, one mental patient, imprisoned in his illness, perhaps. I imagine his vulnerable self projected onto the wasp to be looked after and cared for. But being imprisoned in a box is not a natural state for the wasp. Unless, being fanciful, the wasp sought out this patient and readily resided in the box. And when the wasp died, did the patient keep it still? The main feeling I have is of sadness, aloneness. I can imagine the patient having had a bad day on the ward, withdrawing to his bedroom to communicate with the wasp. Two lonely living beings. One of the great American psychiatrists, Harold Searles, who worked with people with schizophrenia, wrote a marvelous book in 1960 called ‘The Non-Human Environment’. Some people with mental illness can relate more intensely to an object or a living thing, prefer non-human contact, and often that isn’t recognised, how important it is.’ 200 YEAR S / 200 O B J EC TS 2 9 30 2 0 0 Y EAR S / 200 OB JEC T S 1912 Guinea Pig Twenty of Mr McKenzie’s ﬁnest guinea pigs disappeared from the West House garden, but were returned after he staked out the garden at night and confronted the thieves, two local schoolboys. 1913 ‘Object Temporarily Removed for Restoration’ Sign A patient made a sculpture depicting the allegory Knowledge and Justice Triumphing over Ignorance, Greed and Injustice in walnut and ivory. The sculpture was gifted to Dr Clouston who frequently commented on the life-like quality of the bat, monkey, snake and magpie represented in the work. 1915 Lead Figures The Asylum suffered from lack of staff as nurses, doctors and orderlies left to aid the War effort. Yet patient numbers swelled. In this year, 25 soldiers suffering ‘mental collapse’ were admitted to West House. The treatment of shellshock was pioneered at the Royal Edinburgh and Craiglockhart Hospitals. 1914 Photograph of Lieutenant Huddlestone Dr SC Huddlestone took a commission in the 1st Battalion of the Black Watch and was killed in action while leading a counter attack across the trenches. 1916 Mirror This mirror hung in the ofﬁce of Thomas Clouston and would have captured the gaze of many superintendents following his death in 1915. 200 YEAR S / 200 O B J EC TS 3 1 1917 ‘Reminiscences and Stories of a Certiﬁed Lunatic’ EXPERT INTERVIEW Allan Beveridge Psychiatrist and historian ‘This hand-written journal purports to be the life story of a ‘certiﬁed lunatic’. The preface is written by a medical superintendent at ‘a Scottish asylum’, but is signed only M.D., so we can’t identify the doctor or the hospital, and I think ‘MD’ is actually a way of saying ‘a doctor’. The disappointing thing for me – because I am very interested in patients’ accounts of illness – is that the story is entirely about the man’s travels and adventures before he came to the asylum. Reading it again, what strikes me is that this doctor is very interested in his patient, which is heartening. Sometimes psychiatrists get a lot of bad press, but here is this doctor who is obviously fascinated by his patients. He transcribes the man’s journals in his own hand. By the look of it, he wanted to get it published. In the preface, he is says that this remarkable man is actually sane, an opinion shared by other people who knew him for a long time, but those who made a brief examination thought he was unwell. You can’t tell what the truth of it was, or even if the document is genuine. The main interest for me is the fact that he is entertaining the notion that the patient was sane, because the mythology of early asylums is that people get banged up with nothing wrong with them, doctors are in cahoots with the state or relatives, and that isn’t my view, having looked at the archives.’ 32 2 0 0 Y EAR S / 200 OB JEC T S 1918 Conﬁdential Files Conﬁdential ﬁles were held on soldiers, such as poets Wilfred Owen and Siegfrid Sassoon, from their time being treated and analysed for combat stress at the adjacent Craiglockhart War Hospital. Sassoon’s ﬁle stated his mind was ‘still chaos’ and he was ‘not to be trusted with men’s lives’. Nonetheless, Sassoon returned voluntarily to the War. 1922 Chamber Pot Chamber pot inscribed with a Royal Edinburgh Asylum insignia. 1923 ‘Conﬂict and Dreams’ WHR Rivers Dr WHR Rivers pioneered the treatment of shellshock through psychoanalysis in Edinburgh during the Great War. The building at the Royal Edinburgh where soldiers returning from conﬂict are treated now is named after him. 1919 Dispensing Book From “powder for diarrhoea in chickens” to “tooth powder” this manual contains a carefully handwritten list of hundreds of remedies. 1924 Ward Light An electrical supply was ﬁtted in the Asylum. 1920 Rules and Regulations from West House These include warnings about the correct sending of letters. This was because letters were routinely read by staff, and intercepted if deemed to be ‘deranged’ or unsuitable. They were often appended to a patient’s case notes, never reaching their intended destination. 1925 Floor Plans for West House Detailed ﬂoor plans of West House. Since its beginning, the physical hospital has been in a constant state of ﬂux, expanding to accommodate more patients, altering to suit new regimes and methods of care. These plans were possibly created to facilitate alterations to the 1842 building. 1921 Hand Saw This handmade saw usually hangs in the joiners’ workshop at the Hospital, and was contributed by a carpenter whose family have worked at the Royal Edinburgh for three generations. 1926 Spent Matches Matches conﬁscated from a patient suffering from acute pyromania. 200 YEAR S / 200 O B J EC TS 3 3 1927 Tailors’ Workbook Workbooks recorded every item of clothing made by the tailors’ workshops. All Hospital clothing was made in-house and was uniform in appearance. 1930 Photograph of Pinel Commemoration A stone memorial marking the centenary of Phillipe Pinel’s death is commemorated in the Hospital grounds. His principles of non-restraint were held as an ideal. The photograph shows, left to right: Mr TM Gardiner, Chairman of Managers, the French Ambassador, the Earl of Stair, and Dr Hamilton Marr, Commissioner. Behind is Miss Martin, Matron, with some of her nursing staff. 1928 ‘Object Removed for Further Study’ Sign A case of Chateauneuf du Pape was gifted to the nursing staff by an admiring group of visiting French psychiatric professionals. 1931 Repaired China A selection of ceramics broken and repaired by patients. 1929 Photograph of Dormitory Jordanburn Nerve Hospital opens. It had its origins in the work done to help shellshocked patients during World War I. 34 2 0 0 Y EAR S / 200 OB JEC T S 1932 Portrait of David Kennedy Henderson Henderson took over as both Physician Superintendent and Professor of Psychiatry. He was the ﬁrst to introduce occupational therapy in the Hospital and helped guide the Hospital into the National Health Service. He advocated the need to consider the personal and family history of patients, along with their psychological and physical state, in diagnosis and treatment. He also paid attention to the context of their social circumstances. He described this conceptual framework as ‘psychodynamic’. 1935 ‘Objects Removed for Picnic’ Sign A pair of shuttlecocks used in an infamous patient versus staff badminton tournament. 1936 The Escape Book This records an Arthur A absconding from the Hospital His ‘mode of escape’ is listed as ‘leaving his sister with whom he was walking in Morningside Drive’. In his own words, ‘I wanted time to think things over for myself’. He then returned. 1937 Article on Miss Thyne The ‘Morningside Mirror’ marks the retirement of Miss JE Thyne. She nursed in Cannes and Las Palmas, before returning to Scotland and positions in Larbert and Rosslynlee Mental Hospitals before moving to the Royal Edinburgh, where she rose to become Lady Superintendent, head of nursing staff for the entire Hospital. 1933 Closed Portfolio Portfolio of images deemed too disturbing to be seen. 1934 Sports Day Coverage The Morningside Mirror celebrates the Annual Sports Day at West House. Patients, nurses, attendants, laundry workers, kitchen and domestic staff are all listed as having taken part in the games. 1938 Early ECT Machine Electroconvulsive Therapy was ﬁrst used in the late 1930s. 200 YEAR S / 200 O B J EC TS 3 5 1939 Daily Mirror The outbreak of World War Two. 1942 Happy the Donkey Lacking petrol for the grass mowers, the Hospital acquired a donkey to pull a cutting machine. The Morningside Mirror reported that the donkey ‘proved itself unwilling to undertake so laborious a task’ and so, ‘A large and most antediluvian (and extremely heavy) cutter has been unearthed, and it is drawn by a large set of residents, harnessed galley fashion, and thus making fairly light work of it’. 1940 Steam Water Boiler Every ward would have had one of these boilers until they were replaced by new technology in the late 1960s. 1941 Unusual Potatoes ‘The potatoes illustrated above were dug up in one of the Hospital vegetable gardens, and are one of the oddest of Nature’s freaks. As will be seen, they form an amazingly life like ﬂight of aeroplanes; as Mr Swan has suggested, like six ﬁghters escorting a bomber. Most of them are even complete with gun turrets on top.’ 1943 Battle Fatigued Soldiers By 1943 approximately one third of men invalided from the Army were discharged on psychiatric grounds. The Hospital was to see an increase in patients suffering from war neurosis, or neurasthenia. The same syndrome was once known as shellshock and is now related to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. 36 2 0 0 Y EAR S / 200 OB JEC T S 1944 Rules and Regulations Sign EXPERT INTERVIEW Tom Arnott Operations Manager ‘This handwritten notice hung in the Jordanburn Nerve Hospital, which opened as part of the Royal Edinburgh in 1929. It was probably the ﬁrst psychiatric hospital where people were referred without being sectioned and for short periods. It also brought some services out into the community. Prior to that, if you needed psychiatric care you were admitted to the asylum, so it was maybe 30 or 40 years ahead of its time. It did have a darker aspect, though. This was the era when, if people were thought to be homosexual, they were referred to Jordanburn for treatment and ‘cure’. Otherwise they might lose their jobs. The only rule that strikes me as being different to today’s principles is the ﬁrst, ‘Patients should not discuss symptoms with one another’ – sometimes that can be helpful, especially within group therapy, to try to empathise with each other, so that’s changed. They mention ‘occupation’ as being of great value in treatment. This is a theme running throughout the Hospital’s history, from the early days, when if you were a cook or a cobbler or a tailor, you’d be involved in doing those things for the hospital community. At Jordanburn they were keen for patients to help with the running of wards. It’s the beginnings of occupational therapy but it wasn’t called that yet. The title ‘nerve hospital’ was a more modern take on mental illness, getting away from the term ‘asylum’. Some people still speak of ‘nervous breakdown’.’ 200 YEAR S / 200 O B J EC TS 3 7 1945 Two Hats ‘Once more peace has come to this country and to the world, though as yet it is somewhat uneasy peace… Gradually old faces are beginning to put in appearance once more as various members of the Staff return to us from their term of service.’ – Morningside Mirror. family doctor, prescription drugs, glasses or dentures. According to Arthur Woodburn, Secretary of State for Scotland: ‘We have had one-legged patients coming in for an artiﬁcial leg who had never had one before. We have sometimes had the tragedy that it is now too late to ﬁt limbs and all we can do is to supply them with wheeled chairs’. 1949 ECT Machine The ’40s and ’50s saw the use of ECT become widespread. Helpful in some cases of deep depression, but with often devastating side effects, the machine passes a current through the brain to induce convulsions. 1946 Ice Pick In this year Dr Walter Freeman invented the ‘ice pick lobotomy’, so called because the instrument used resembled a kitchen ice pick. There is no evidence that such procedures were carried out at the Hospital 1947 Repurposed Newspaper ‘You never had toilet paper till the Yanks came over. You had newspaper, and you cut it into halves, then quarters, and you squashed up the strips till they were soft, and you put a hole through and hung them on a bit of string from the wall.’ – former patient. 1950 Straightjacket A straightjacket, possibly made in the Hospital’s workshops. ‘I remember not being able to lift my arms up much, and the front loop pulling up on the crotch strap. My shoulders didn’t hurt speciﬁcally, but after thrashing around the ﬁrst time, trying to get out, my upper body was sore. When I was released, they had me do some basic upper body movements, such as moving my arms slowly in a circle, moving my ﬁngers, etc.’ 1948 National Health Service Pamphlet On the 5th July 1948, the National Health Service came into being. For the ﬁrst time, everyone in Britain had free access to a 38 2 0 0 Y EAR S / 200 OB JEC T S 1951 Photograph of a Bagpiper EXPERT INTERVIEW Lothian Health Services Archive staff ‘We don’t know too much about this image. It’s of an older man piping outside Craig House, the estate built for fee-paying patients. You can tell it’s spring because of the tree in blossom behind him. On the back of the photograph someone has written ‘A well-known character at Craig House’. That suggests it could be a patient. You realise this man was probably born in the nineteenth century. We like the historical continuity it reveals. We were at the Hospital fête this summer and there were pipers there, so it’s part of a tradition of people piping in the grounds. We have some wonderful nineteenth-century drawings of individual patients, including a man playing a ﬁddle. Music has always been seen as therapeutic. Even before electricity, they were having dances, and people played live music. The photographs are such a revealing part of the Archive. With text you have to concentrate, you have to dig in, but a picture is immediate, like a window into 1951. You can’t help hoping that, when it goes on exhibition, someone will see this and recognise the man, tell us more about him. The Archive has contributed 54 objects out of the 200 objects on show, which is exciting for us. Our role isn’t only about preservation, but getting the material out there and making sure people can see what we’ve got.’ 200 YEAR S / 200 O B J EC TS 3 9 40 2 0 0 Y EAR S / 200 OB JEC T S 1952 Full-body Straightjacket The use of straightjackets was being phased out around this time, as new drug therapies came into being. 1956 Commemorative Plate A silver plate marking Royal visits to Scottish hospitals, from 1956 to 1989, including the Queen Mother’s visit to the Royal Edinburgh. 1953 Croquet Set A well-used croquet set from West House, now Mackinnon House. 1957 Glass Syringes The new drug chlorpromazine was introduced, effective in controlling psychosis and delusions. 1954 Man Playing Bowls The extensive Hospital grounds have long provided a place for recreation and tranquility. They also have been a source of fruit, vegetables, and other produce. 1958 ‘The Practical Woodturner’ A book on woodwork from the Occupational Therapy department at Craig House. 1955 Aversion Therapy Chair In electric shock aversion therapy, electrodes were attached to the wrist or lower leg and shocks were administered while the patient watched photographs of men and women in various stages of undress. The aim was to encourage avoidance of the shock by moving to photographs of the opposite sex. It was hoped that arousal to same sex photographs would reduce, while relief arising from shock avoidance would increase interest in opposite sex images. 1959 Photograph of the New Hen House The hen house was modernised. At this time, there was also a piggery in the grounds. Patients helped out in both enterprises. 200 YEAR S / 200 O B J EC TS 4 1 1960 LSD Blotter RD Laing’s groundbreaking book, ‘The Divided Self’, was published in 1960. He was a proponent of the idea that madness was not necessarily a breakdown but potentially a breakthrough into a more authentic way of being. He famously took LSD with Sean Connery; the drug was legal at the time. 1964 Instruction Poster Instructions for operating chloride batteries for ECT. 1965 Doll Children were, on occasion, born in the Hospital to patients undergoing treatment for mental ill health. In the ’60s and ’70s, babies accompanied mothers with puerperal psychosis into the hospital, so that a bond might have a better chance of forming. This service is now provided by St John’s at Howden, in West Lothian. 1961 Occupational Therapy Photographs Series of photographs recording Occupational Therapy workshops. 1962 The Morningside Mirror The Morningside Mirror continued to be produced, publication slowly ﬁzzling out in 1974 before Artlink, via artist Ciara Phillips, revived it in 2011. 1966 Press Photograph An unknown celebrity visits the Hospital. 1967 Painting of James Wigham Afﬂeck Afﬂeck became Physician Superintendent in 1967 and headed the Hospital until 1980. 1963 Newspaper Advertisement Recruitment of nurses for West House. At this time, nurses were trained within the Hospital and received a small wage during their three years’ training. 1968 Nurses’ Capes Capes used to be part of a nurses uniform, although, like caps and separate cuffs, they are no longer worn at any National Health Service hospitals. 42 2 0 0 Y EAR S / 200 OB JEC T S 1969 Behavioural Research and Therapy Books Along with drug treatment, a range of therapeutic approaches grew in importance, including Behavioural Therapy and Psychotherapy, inﬂuenced by the work of Laing and others. 1973 Wooden Ducks The toys were given to patients’ children to play with while their parent was being assessed. 1974 ‘Object Removed for Renaming’ Sign The abolition of the South Eastern Regional Hospital Board and creation of Lothian Health Board; Royal Edinburgh Hospital fell under the South Lothian District. 1970 Microphone The Hospital started to video-record some interviews and assessments with patients. This original microphone has captured the voices of hundreds, perhaps thousands of patients since 1970. 1975 Film Reel A ﬁlm documenting a patient outing to Morecambe, Lancashire and a Christmas party at the Hospital. 1971 U-matic Videotape Interviews were recorded onto high quality video tape in a now-defunct format, capturing the individual’s responses as they moved through their treatment. These tapes are in the process of being transferred to a digital format, but will remain conﬁdential. 1976 Sea Trawler Mug A patient longed to own a ﬁshing boat. His friend bought him this mug from a shop in Morningside as compensation, or the nearest he could get to his dream. 1972 Interview Chair This chair has been used for every video interview conducted by the Hospital. 200 YEAR S / 200 O B J EC TS 4 3 44 2 0 0 Y EAR S / 200 OB JEC T S 1977 A Pile of Stones A group of women, survivors of the holocaust camps, were said to have lived in the private wing at Marchhall after the war. They had all passed away by 1977. 1980 Cat A patient with a very large appetite blamed it on the cat with insatiable hunger who lived in his stomach. 1978 Facsimile of Test A test employed to evaluate cognitive change. 1979 Patient Craftwork Miniature furniture made from chestnuts. Not all handiwork was so creative: ‘People were given quite menial tasks. I remember patients making pegs, the two halves of the peg would arrive with the springs in huge big sacks. And the patients would sit all day long putting them altogether. For therapy that’s mind blowing isn’t it, just making pegs. I also remember patients putting elastoplasts into wee bags which were sold to local grocers and what not. On the ground ﬂoor at Bevan they used to do mailing for companies, piles of A4 sheets, they would take one A4 and put it in the envelope.’ 200 YEAR S / 200 O B J EC TS 4 5 1981 Basket Weaving Kit EXPERT INTERVIEW Dianna Manson Patients’ Council ‘I was ﬁrst admitted in the ’60s when the highest optimum dose was given, and then gradually reduced. This toxic regime literally felled me. Each day we were brought down to Occupational Therapy for three hours. It was obligatory – it was murder. Everyone sat around a table at whatever stage of their journey they were on. Because of the drugs, you had double vision, and very little dexterity. And very frightened, because it was the initial stages of a psychosis. This basket would arrive, and I learned to loathe it. I couldn’t do it and I felt grossly insulted, having come from medical school, to think that this was now my objective in life. I remember the consultant coming round – you were not identiﬁed by name, just by your diagnosed condition, and she would remark, “I can see she’s too drugged-up. We need to deal with that”. Never “how do you feel?” “What would you like to do?” I grew more and more to hate that basket. It was used to gauge how I was. I managed, against advice, to get a job during the day, still living on the ward. Eventually discharged, but with no professional support in the community, it was a constant struggle. I could be readmitted, then discharged 3 or 4 times during the course of a year… Things gradually changed and in the ’80s switched to the opposite extreme – there were baskets for those who wanted them, but nothing was obligatory, nobody had to go to group meetings – you just did as you wished, people would lie in bed all day, they didn’t eat at all or could eat as much as they wanted. People were even malnourished! Life is bearable now because people listen. I go into schools and I talk about my experiences – just a little old lady with a pink stick and a pink handbag.’ 46 2 0 0 Y EAR S / 200 OB JEC T S 1982 Christmas Decorations These decorations were used to mark Christmas in the hospital hairdressing salon. When the hairdresser retired, the salon closed. up his ﬂat and she became trapped between the patient and the police. Once the police had taken him to hospital, she went into the ruined ﬂat and saw that he had smashed a goldﬁsh bowl. She picked up the ﬁsh and put it in the kettle. It wasn’t until the following week that she remembered that she had not told anybody that she had done this. 1983 A Garden Fork In 1983 the Scottish Association for Mental Health opened its ﬁrst service, a Sprout Market Garden, a horticultural project for Scotland where people with health problems could gain work experience. Its ﬁrst supported accommodation project opened in the following year 1986 ‘Wild Haemorrhages of the Imagination’ A booklet about the experience of schizophrenia, written by Dianna Manson. Dianna’s life has been unusually intertwined with the Hospital. She grew up just outside the gates of Craig House, and as a child, knew what she calls the ‘old timers’ as friends. She then trained as a medic and subsequently was resident in Craig House as a patient. 1984 Detention Papers Contemporary paperwork relating to the sectioning of patients. 1985 Smashed Goldﬁsh Bowl During the ‘80s, a former Community Psychiatric Nurse went out into the community to visit patients suffering with alcohol problems. At this time, there were no mobile phones and she had no pager. Nobody knew where she was and she went alone. Once, she was the ﬁrst to the scene of an outburst by a patient. He had smashed 1987 Poem Written by a Nurse ‘I wrote the poem out of passion and frustration at how patients with mental health problems were often perceived in general hospital settings. As you can see, I did it many years ago on an old battered typewriter! It has been sitting in my ofﬁce for ages but I still feel strongly about the way mental health patients can be misunderstood.’ 200 YEAR S / 200 O B J EC TS 4 7 1988 Three Trophy Plinths It is no longer known what trophies stood on these plinths, who won them or what for. 1992 Clay Flowerpots The Occupational Therapy Horticulture Project opened, providing therapeutic horticulture to people with severe and enduring mental health conditions. People were actively engaged in practical care of plants, with the aim of improving their work skills and also wellbeing. It can be seen as a revival of the Hospital’s long tradition of gardening and agriculture. 1989 Red Paint The interior colour of the cabinet has been taken from a painted carving on one of the ﬁreplaces in the grand hall, Craig House which closed in 1989. 1990 Sample Card A sampler of materials used by the Hospital upholsterer. 1993 Model of a House There was a fundamental shift in care with the formal introduction of changes to support people at home rather than in long-stay institutions. In 1949, Dingleton Hospital in the Borders was one of the ﬁrst in the world to unlock its wards allowing patients access to the wider community. In recent years, Scotland has pioneered new approaches in promoting mental well being, although resources remain hard fought for. 1991 Violin Staff remember a patient who often used to play the violin in the reception area of the Hospital. His name was Frank, and he was possibly a ‘corridor patient’, the phrase used for individuals who have been released from the Hospital, but gravitate back to its familiarity. He died in 1993. 48 2 0 0 Y EAR S / 200 OB JEC T S 1994 Postcard/Souvenirs A group of staff and patients went on a mini-break to Blackpool. 1998 Video Training Pack Produced by the Patients’ Council, the aim of the video project was to enable users to transform their own experience into learning for others. It also serves as a training aid to raise awareness of ‘how it feels’ to be a patient on an acute ward in the Royal Edinburgh Hospital. 1995 Small Silver Bell The bell began to be used at staff meetings by the Community Rehabilitation Team, it was rung when they had a successful discharge of a patient leaving the Hospital to be housed in the community. As some patients had been resident for 40 or more years, this required much preparation and effort by the team and the patients involved. 1999 Metal Union Badges In 1999 workers were given the legal right to collective bargaining by a recognised trade union. It applies to workers in the NHS but does not apply to employees in the growing private sector. 1996 Newsletter The ﬁrst ever Edinburgh campaign to de-stigmatise mental health. 2000 Giant Bird Mobile Made by joiner George Brown for the Hospital crèche. 1997 Tipperlinn Bowling Club Brochure Tipperlinn Bowling Club, based in the grounds and open to both patients and staff, celebrates its silver jubilee. 2001 Coffee Jar, Mug and Spoon One patient was particularly fond of adding many, many spoons of coffee to a mug of cold or hot water. Usually cold. 200 YEAR S / 200 O B J EC TS 4 9 2002 Model of a House An increasing number of people receive care in their own homes or in supported housing rather than in a long stay institution. This was seen as the best option from a humanitarian and moral perspective. 2006 Photographs from the Patients’ Council The Royal Edinburgh Hospital Patients’ Council continues to strengthen the voice of patients and former patients through independent collective advocacy. 2003 Detention Forms The latest version of the forms which conﬁne a patient to psychiatric care. 2007 Innovative Practice Award The Mental Health Nursing Forum Scotland Innovation Practice Award for Adult Acute Inpatient Services, which was won by the Self Harm Project in 2007. The award is a sculpture, ‘The Road to Recovery’, by Alison McGuigan. 2004 Hairdressing Scissors Wilma Holmes was the in-house hairdresser for the Hospital for more than thirty years – from 1972 to 2010. 2008 60th Birthday Card The NHS was born out of a long held ideal that good healthcare should be available to all, regardless of wealth. Since its launch in 1948, the NHS has grown to become the world’s largest publicly-funded health service. 2005 Jigsaw Pieces Pieces from a number of different puzzles mixed together by Mrs H, who claimed it made the assembling of the images more challenging. 50 2 0 0 Y EAR S / 200 OB JEC T S 2009 Military Food Tin Veterans First Point (V1P) is a service designed by veterans for veterans, offering welfare and psychological support as they adjust to life after military service. V1P works with veterans of all ages and branches of service (including reservists and TA) as well as their families to successfully transition back to civilian life. 2012 Gnome Historically, the Hospital held Gala Days for patients. Working with staff, Artlink re-introduced a Gala Day four years ago in the lead up to the bicentenary. Last year, patients and staff worked on creating a Gnome Olympics to coincide with the London Olympics. Numerous gnomes were made and altered into sporting positions, to become athletes within the Gnome Olympic Stadium. Gnome made by Gareth Shaw, OT Assistant. 2010 Patient Drawing The tradition of vocational and creative activity continues through the various workshops carried out by occupational therapists as well as numerous voluntary and community organisations. Drawings by Albert Stewart Nicolson. 2013 Door Bell and Hammer Reputed to be the original doorbell to the entrance of Mackinnon House. At the same time as the Hospital prepares for a radical new phase of building works, it was removed this year and handed to the EVER / PRESENT / PAST project. Countless numbers of ﬁngers would have pressed this bell over the ﬁrst 170-year span of the Building’s existence. 2011 Union Banners Union Flags from the one-day Pensions Dispute demonstration in Edinburgh. Over 4000 union members demonstrated. Plans begin to redevelop the Royal Edinburgh Hospital on its existing site over the next 10 years. 200 YEAR S / 200 O B J EC TS 5 1 52 2 0 0 Y EAR S / 200 OB JEC T S Ever/Present/Past The history of the Royal Edinburgh Hospital (REH) spans 200 years, covering many life times and diverse experiences of the psychiatric system. These experiences, some sad, some heartening, some funny and some down right odd, give a different insight into the everyday life of this hospital and the ways in which it has changed over the years. When Artlink was set the task of capturing the Hospital’s history, it decided to approach the whole project in the same way it runs its workshops. First start with the individual; learn from their experience; then see where it takes you. The artists involved in the programme became researchers, meeting with individuals, slowly unearthing stories, collating these experiences, offering new perspectives, turning their research into artworks. The result is EVER / PRESENT / PAST, a year-long programme curated and co-ordinated by Artlink, which exposes the history of the REH through events, talks and exhibitions. The year culminates in the exhibition at the Talbot Rice Gallery. Mark Dion’s 200 Years / 200 Objects has seen a spectacular research programme of involvement and activity, which involved a monumental programme of collecting, collating and sifting of the stories connected to the Royal Edinburgh Hospital. For Mark Dion this meant ‘collections’ in the broadest sense, involving tours of the Hospital and its community. From underneath the ﬂoor boards to up on the roof, he gained an understanding of the Hospital through the places he visited and the people he met with. He also cleverly employed staff, patients, archivists and the wider community to help excavate the Hospital’s history from their perspectives. Each year from 1813 to 2013 was assigned an object. Each object has a story. The objects have been gathered from a variety of sources, such as the Morningside community, the Hospital community, and the Lothian Health Services Archive, amongst others. 200 YEAR S / 200 O B J EC TS 5 3 Mark Dion has also made speciﬁc interventions especially for the exhibition. Researched information and speculative ﬁction are intertwined to construct a compelling and convincing story. Archive, historical, contemporary, loaned, bought, donated, found and newly commissioned objects rub shoulders with each other in the 14m long cabinet. The mass collection of 200 objects combine to create an involved, complex and thought provoking artwork. Mark Dion and Artlink would like to thank everyone who took part in the realisation of this work, from the porter to the nurse, the local shop keeper to the patient. Your contributions have helped make it as rich and expansive as the Hospital’s 200 years. Alison Stirling and Trevor Cromie Co-curators EVER / PRESENT / PAST Thanks to: Artlink Director, Jan-Bert van den Berg, for his invaluable support and guidance throughout the project. 54 2 0 0 Y EAR S / 200 OB JEC T S Acknowledgements Royal Edinburgh Hospital Staff and Patients past and present Lothian Health Services Archive, Centre for Research Collections, Edinburgh University University of Edinburgh’s Talbot Rice Gallery University of Edinburgh Royal Edinburgh Hospital Patients’ Council Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh Robert Smail’s Printing Works W. Armstrong & Son Dr Neil’s Garden Trust, Duddingston Curling House Museum on the Mound, Lloyds Banking Group Morningside Heritage Association Veterans First Point Craighouse Partnership Cousland Smiddy Community Rehabilitation Team, Royal Edinburgh Hospital The Orchard Clinic, Royal Edinburgh Hospital Nursing Studies, School of Health and Social Science, University of Edinburgh The Rivers Centre for Traumatic Stress Royal Voluntary Service Patient’s Library, Royal Edinburgh Hospital Volunteer Hub, Royal Edinburgh Hospital Health Promotion Resource Centre, NHS Lothian Tipperlinn Bowling Club UNISON Edinburgh Napier University Volunteer Edinburgh Edinburgh Voluntary Organisation Council Caps Advocacy Advocard Morningside local shops and businesses Morningside community 200 YEAR S / 200 O B J EC TS 5 5 Special thanks to: Tom Arnott, Royal Edinburgh Hospital and Lothian Health Services Archive staff. Laura Aldridge, Rohan Almond, Claire Barclay, Jim Baird, Allan Beveridge, Julie Bishop, Sharon Boyle, Colin Bright, George Brown, Irene Brown, David Budd, Sarah Cairns, Vanessa Cameron, Kara Christine, James Clegg, Andrew Connell, Susan Davidson, Margaret Dunn, Anne Elliot, Stuart Fallon, Angela Farr, Pat Fisher, Serena Fredrick, Claire Fyvie, Laura Gould, Shirley Gowers, Gen Harrison, Ruth Honeybone, Susan Hood, Ronnie Jack, Christine Jones, Maggie Keppie, Louise Learmonth, Dianna Manson, Patrick McFall, Maggie McIvor, Gordon McLetchie, Alison Meiklejohn, Ewen Meldrum, Roger Mercer, Susan Mercer, Iain Milne, Eileen Moar, Tim Montgomery, Mary Mooney, Albert Nicholson, Sarah Noble, Hazel Norcross, Grace O’Hanlon, Jill Powlett Brown, Fiona Reynolds, Deborah Ritchie, Peter Ross, Ian Seath, Gareth Shaw, Dana Sherwood, Neville Singh, Hania Smarecka, Marianne Smith, Laura Spring, Tommy Stuart, Susan Tennyson, Eleni Thomaidou, Anne Thomson, Alison Thorburn, Carolyn Thorburn, George Todd, Catherine Walker, Eric Walker, Kirsty Williams, Louise Williams, Stephen Willis, Andy Wills. Mark Dion would like to thank the The Tanya Bonakdar Gallery for their continued support and the artist, Sarah Mercer for her assistance during the installation period. He would also like to acknowledge the exceptional work of the project interns Kristin Cunningham, Emma Middleton and Page Benkowski, during the research, conceptualization and production phases of the exhibition. 56 2 0 0 Y EAR S / 200 OB JEC T S Credits Catalogue published by Artlink in an edition of 1000, November 2013 Catalogue published to accompany the following exhibition. 200 Years / 200 Objects, Mark Dion University of Edinburgh’s Talbot Rice Gallery. 16th November 2013 to 15th February 2014 © Copyright 2013 the artist, authors and publisher. The Ever / Present / Past project has been co-curated by Trevor Cromie and Artlink’s Projects Director Alison Stirling, the exhibition has been realised in collaboration with the Talbot Rice Gallery. Design by Nicky Regan, Submarine Design Text by Nicola White Edited by Alison Stirling and Trevor Cromie The following images courtesy of Lothian Health Services Archive, Edinburgh University Library. Front cover and page 35 Ref: LHSA/EUL/LHB7/13/14 (7) Page 20 Ref: LHSA/EUL/GD16 Page 38 Ref: LHSA/EUL/ P/PL7/P/014 All other photographs Anne Elliot. Disclaimer In collating the objects and stories for this exhibit, we drew on the memories of past and present patients, staff and the local community. Some of these stories are based on fact, some are ﬁction and some hearsay. All have been adapted by the artist for the purpose of the artwork and do not necessarily represent the views of the organisations we have worked with. Artlink promotes diversity, drawing on lived experiences to inform creative responses which are both relevant and enduring. Artlink Edinburgh and the Lothians 13a Spittal Street Edinburgh EH3 9DY Tel: 0131 229 3555 Website: www.artlinkedinburgh.co.uk Blog: www.artlinkeverpresentpast.wordpress.com Artlink is a company registered in Scotland No. 87845 with charitable status. Scottish Charity No. SC006845.

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