| AdminHistory | Edward Mayhew was born in 1808. In the early part of his life he was a theatre producer, artistic critic, journalist and playwright. Aged 35 he decided to train as a veterinary surgeon and, in April 1843, became a student at the London Veterinary College where he was appointed demonstrator of anatomy the following year whilst still a student. Mayhew was elected vice-president of the Veterinary Medical Association in November 1844 and qualified as a member of the RCVS on 6th February 1845. He became a member of the RCVS Council just over a year later, on 4th May 1846. Having failed to be re-elected to membership of the RCVS Council in 1849, after publicly criticising the running of the London Veterinary College, the inadequacy of the teaching there and the abuses of office committed by some members of the RCVS, Mayhew played no further part in the affairs of the RCVS after 1850. In the short time that he spent practicing as a vet Mayhew made noted contribution to the profession, including canine obstetrics. He notably described the use of the stomach tube in horses and illustrated the method in his book ‘The Illustrated Horse Doctor’. After leaving the college he set up his own practice near Paddington Station, which dealt mainly with dogs. Two of his books became authoritative guides: ‘The Illustrated Horse Doctor’ and ‘The Illustrated Stable Management’. He was also a talented artist and produced a series of fine illustrations to accompany the books, which variously depict diseases, methods of treatment and also include drawings of tools and stables as well as advice on horse management. The overwhelming majority of his illustrations in the RCVS collection relates to horses, with only two known drawings of dogs in the collection. He died on 24th August 1868 after a long illness, having spent the last fifteen years of his life in a wheelchair.
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| CustodialHistory | Acquired by RCVS Trust in 1990. |