A collection of ephemera relating to the case of Thomas Smethurst known as the 'The Richmond Poisoner' convicted of the murder of Isabella Bankes, including a report by Sir Fred Pollock, press cuttings relating to the trial, and a 16pp penny paper published at the time, owned by Alfred Swaine Taylor. Apothecary and water-cure enthusiast Dr Thomas Smethurst was convicted of the murder of his bigamous wife Isabella Bankes. The guilty verdict proved controversial and the medical evidence provided during the trial was disputed. Alfred Swaine Taylor (1806-1880) was an eminent British forensic medicine expert, toxicologist and early photographic pioneer. Taylor had carried out analysis as an expert witness and admitted during the trial that one of his tests for arsenic had been contaminated, which, despite Taylor's confidence that arsenic was present, cast doubt on all the forensic evidence. Smethurst was eventually reprieved and pardoned for murder, however he did have to serve time for bigamy.