Forty years ago, the History of Medicine Library received its largest bequest from the estate of the late Edward Ford, former College vice president and curator of the Library. In 1986, the College received his international collection, consisting of some 1,100 volumes. The value of this acquisition to the College cannot be overestimated, either in economic or cultural terms.

The highlight of the bequest is undoubtedly the first edition of Charles Darwin's On the origin of species, which remains the most historically significant item in the collection. However, there were many other classics from the history of medicine included in the bequest.

Anatomical exercitations, concerning the generation of living creatures: to which are added particular discourses of births, and of conceptions, &c. by William Harvey, is significant because it fundamentally transformed the understanding of the human body and the practice of medicine. In it Harvey demonstrated, through observation and experiment, that blood circulates continuously around the body, pumped by the heart. This overturned the long‑held Galenic belief that blood was constantly created and consumed rather than recirculated. He also showed that the heart functions as a mechanical pump, driving blood through the arteries and veins. This introduced a new, dynamic view of the body based on motion and mechanism rather than static humoral theory. Harvey relied on careful measurement, dissection, and experimentation, marking a decisive shift toward empirical, scientific medicine. His approach helped establish experimental physiology as a discipline.

Originally published in Latin in 1628 as De Motu Cordis (Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis et Sanguinis in Animalibus), the Library holds the 1653 first English edition, which made Harvey's findings accessible to a wider audience.

Ford also bequeathed the Royal Society’s 1639 edition of Johann Remmelin‘s Catoptrum Microcosmicum, one of the most fascinating anatomical books ever produced. This 'lift the flap' book uses interactive flaps to reveal the human body in progressive layers, inviting its readers to 'peel' back the skin to expose muscles, organs and skeletal systems as you would with a dissection. It is an extraordinary engineering achievement accomplished using paper alone. Four centuries after it publication it continues to inspire awe at the technological sophistication of the period.

A treatise on the theory and practice of midwifery by William Smellie.
This is the first important book of obstetrics written in English. It helped transform midwifery from a largely traditional, experience‑based practice into a systematic, medically informed discipline. His later 'Sett of anatomical tables, with explanations and an abridgment, of the practice of midwifery, with a view to illustrate a treatise on that subject, and collection of cases' was intended to illustrate the female pelvis and the fetus, true to the nature of the relations of the parts of the mother and child.

This copy is all the more remarkable for originally belonging to William Redfern, one of the first practitioners of public health in Australia. The inscription on the dedication page states: "The gift of the John McMullin to W. Redfern, January 30th, 1794" and it is signed on the flyleaf: "May 24th 1796 - Wm Redfern" and "William Redfern, May 25th, 1796".

Notes on nursing by Florence Nightingale. Undated first edition, second issue. Florence Nightingale's pioneering work 'Notes on nursing : what it is and what it is not' was published just prior to the opening of the Nightingale School at St. Thomas's Hospital in June 1860. By detailing nurses’ duties to patients in practical terms, it elevated the role of the practitioner, framing it as one that required formal training and recognised medical expertise. It was the first major work on the subject and sold thousands of copies within the first few months of its publication. American editions and translations in European languages soon appeared, spreading its influence further afield.

Professor Thomas Peter Anderson Stuart's manuscripts. The Dean of the Faculty of Medicine from 1883 to 1920 at the University of Sydney, Anderson Stuart reputedly destroyed many of his personal papers. However, several bound volumes donated by Ford contain Anderson Stuart’s handwritten notes from lectures attended during his medical studies at the University of Edinburgh, as well as his own notebook of 'Original observations'.

In addition, Ford bequeathed many extraordinary artefacts such as the Mary Windeyer's homeopathic chest, Marie Curie's radium certificate, and the documents of medical apprenticeship of Frederick Milford.

Along with his earlier donation of Australasian material, the Ford bequests have enriched the College with one of the best medical rare book collections in Australia.