Design For A Banknote
His diverse interests in many fields often led to involvement in unusual projects both large and small. For example as an authority on the history of medicine he was approached by the Bank of England to suggest a medical theme for the £10 note. He not only suggested Florence Nightingale as a subject but went on to recommend they base their design on a "classic" scene of her carrying her famous lamp, which had earned her the nickname "The Lady With The Lamp," around a ward of the Military Hospital at Scutari during the Crimean War. When the Bank of England was unable to track down the particular steel engraving he had recommended he lent them a copy of the rare print from his collection.
The Florence Nightingale £10 banknote was first issued in February 1975 and proved extremely popular (leading for a while to the £10 note being nicknamed "a Flo" by some, as in "excuse me - have you got change for a Flo"). It was not withdrawn until May 1994.
Read more about this topic: Sydney Selwyn
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