Writing desk of the Office of the Metropolitan Commissioners in Lunacy, 1828-1914, containing copies of relevant Acts of Parliament, Oaths, 3 bibles with handwritten oaths, and a seal. Also contains 2 removable glass inkwells, 2 small boxes, curved surface for resting pens (?), 1 ivory stamp, small key. Box lid has two leather inners, one attached and one removable, embossed with crown and floral design.
Writing desks were designed to be portable and to store writing equipment. This example came from the Office of the Metropolitan Commissioners in Lunacy. The Commission was set up in 1828 to inspect private asylums in Middlesex and the London metropolitan area. It granted or revoked licences, and could make unannounced inspections, interview patients and release those it felt had been unjustly placed in asylums. The Commission sought to improve medical treatment of patients and set minimum acceptable standards of accommodation. Every year, the Commission had to submit a report to the Home Secretary of its findings. In 1845, its duties extended to all boroughs and counties of England and Wales.
The desk contains documents such as relevant Acts of Parliament and oaths used for giving evidence. These documents are testament to the treatment and status of mental illness in the 1800s and use terms considered unacceptable today. For example, the category ‘lunacy’ included “Rogues, Vagabonds, and other idle and disorderly persons”. If these individuals were considered to have mental illnesses, they could be ‘kept safely locked up in some secure place’ and if necessary ‘be there chained.’
Black leather purse with the crest of the Commissioners in Lunacy
Black leather purse with a metal clasp and the crest of the Commisioners in Lunacy, 1828 - 1914, leather, metal, (stored in writing desk of the Office of the Metropolitan Commissioners in Lunacy)
A copy of the New Testament with handwritten oaths inside
A copy of the New Testament with handwritten oaths inside, leather, paper, (stored in writing desk of the Office of the Metropolitan Commissioners in Lunacy)
New Testament with a typewritten copy of the 1909 Oaths Act
A copy of the New Testament with a typewritten copy of the 1909 Oaths Act, with additional handwritten oaths, leather, paper, (stored in the writing desk of the Office of the Metropolitan Commissioners in Lunacy)
Copy of the New Testament with handwritten oaths inside
A copy of the New Testament with handwritten oaths inside, printed by the Pitt Press, Cambridge, 1834, leather paper, (stored in the writing desk of the Office of the Metropolitan Commissioners in Lunacy)
An Act to Amend the Laws for the Erection and Regulation of County Lunatic Asylums
Red leatherbound copy of An Act to Amend the Laws for the Erection and Regulation of County Lunatic Asylums and more effectually to provide for the Care and Maintenance of Pauper and Criminal Lunatics in England, 15th July 1828
Leather, paper (stored in the writing desk of the Office of the Metropolitan Commissioners in Lunacy)