In nothing is the deadly struggle for existence so manifest throughout London, as in the rivalry of doctors' shops; they divide with licensed victuallers all the corners; their blue and red lights stream like meteors on this side and on that, ominously portentous; they will bleed for a penny, cup for twopence, and draw teeth for nothing; they will give you physic enough to poison a regiment for a groat, and offer advice at its actual value - advice gratis. ... When we use the word doctor in talking of medical establishments, we cannot be supposed to include gentlemen regularly educated in, and legally qualified for the profession; we animadvert solely on the swarms of chemists, who, without education, qualification, or experience, impudently take upon themselves to prescribe for all manner of ailments ...

The World of London, by John Murray, in Blackwoods Magazine, July 1841