Michael T Tracy

The Hunter Chair and the Goodsir Family's Connection Michael T Tracy

On 21 April 1883, to mark the tercentenary anniversary of the founding of the University of Edinburgh the following year, Dr. Robert Anstruther Goodsir presented "a chair and desk which belonged to John Hunter to the museum of the university." The historical significance of these pieces of furniture is associated with the life and times of one of Scotland's most distinguished 18th-century surgeons and scientists, Dr. John Hunter. This work will trace the provenance and associations of Dr. Hunter's chair and desk, known as a secretaire, with its attached glazed door book-case, up to their final possession by the Goodsir family of Edinburgh. These objects' stories are both fascinating and provide interesting glimpses into the lives of the persons and families who once owned and cherished them.