Scottish medical school corpse petition linked to Burke and Hare?

A request for corpses signed by students of a Scottish medical school in 1828 is up for sale at Lyon & Turnbull on September 10 in Edinburgh, with a valuation of £300-400 ($489-652).

The date of the petition coincides with the Burke and Hare murders, when two Irish immigrants murdered around 16 people and sold their corpses to Dr Robert Knox - a lecturer in anatomy and medicine.

Edinburgh medical uni
The petition originates from the University of Edinburgh

Simon Vickers, a spokesman for Lyon & Turnbull, told the Edinburgh Evening News: "It is quite possible these were Dr Knox's students.

"The petition is on vellum, which is incredibly long lasting. You can clearly distinguish the names of students and where they lived across Edinburgh."

Check out our incredible selection of memorabilia here.

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