"Regarding David Pickup's question about "Prof. Jackson." I don't know if I located the correct individual, but I feel he is a distinct possibility.

"I focused my search on Yorkshire in the mid-19th century and found newspaper articles from 1872-3 in Hull mentioning the arrest of a "Quack Doctor" who is described as "Professor Jackson and his Indian Remedy." Professor Jackson was identified as "Henry Jackson, 35, well known in York" an "imperfectly educated" "herbalist," "formerly a drum-major of the Hull Rifle Volunteers" and "late of the Indian army R.C.A.R." These "mysterious initials were rendered in court into 'Railway crossing Albany-road,' near where the prisoner lived." Most of Professor Jackson's medicines were found to be composed "only of coloured water."

"Here is an advertisement for Professor Jackson in Hull from before his arrest (Hull Daily News 7/27/1872)."

"Not sure whether the following excerpts refer to the same Professor Jackson that the token does, but the man described seems to be the same sort of enigmatic individual, offering dubious services, as the issuer. He doesn't have any links with the Pavement in York, but he does with the one in Nottingham. Such characters would often travel around the country, especially if there was any danger of the quality of their product being exposed. They lived by their wits, using whatever skills they had, and turn their hand to anything.

"The Victorian era saw a fashion for quackery and pseudo-science which certain people, of debateable qualifications and origin, were very happy to try and professionally exploit. There were a number of token issuers amongst them.

"The Era, the main journal of the theatre and music hall at the time, also contains several late-1870s references to a Professor Jackson performing as a ventriloquist. Whether he is the same man I don't know, but you certainly wouldn't need an academic qualification to do that job."

A PHRENOLOGIST IN TROUBLE. We find the following in the Evening News of the 18th current :- "The case of John Jackson, phrenologist and mesmerist, charged on remand with indecently assaulting ten or twelve young girls after religious services which he had conducted, was mentioned yesterday morning at Nottingham Town Hall. The prisoner was too ill to appear, and a solicitor appeared on behalf of his congregation for bail. The Town-Clerk opposed, and said he had a much more serious charge to prefer against Jackson, namely, that of rape. Bail was accordingly refused and the prisoner again remanded.

We remember some time ago, that a man, calling himself Professor Jackson, paid a visit to Alloa, and had a series of lectures on Mesmerism. The "Professor" favoured a number of tradesmen with his custom but left the town suddenly, on urgent private business, without clearing his scores, and as far we are aware they are not yet paid. John seems now to have fallen into the hands of those who will not allow the plea of urgent private business to have any effect on them, should he propose leaving Nottingham for that purpose.

Thanks, everyone. We can imagine what the "private examinations" entailed. -Editor

"I think my guy is more likely...but the dates are just enough off to make me wonder if they were the same person."