In 1828 the University of Edinburgh’s medical students were desperate to get their hands on cadavers – so they could study Anatomy from real subjects.  This amazing document, measuring 190 x 60 cm, is a petition signed by the students to ask the authorities to provide more bodies.  At exactly the same time, Burke and Hare were responding to this shortage by resorting to murder.  This manuscript, which has arrived today as a potential purchase, shows very clearly how the success of Anatomy at Edinburgh created unexpected pressures on society.  Joe Marshall