Meet the donors

Donation label on the cover of Mikrokosmographia: a description of the body of man. Helkiah Crooke, published London, 1631. CN17742

Abdominal anatomy of a woman in Mikrokosmographia: a description of the body of man. Helkiah Crooke, published London, 1616. Wellcome Collection

The College of Physicians initially attempted to ban publication of Helkiah Crooke’s work Mikrokosmographia: a description of the body of man (1616), deeming its anatomical illustrations to be indecent and damaging to public morals. However, the College later relented and, in 1620, elected Crooke a fellow. He later made a gift of the second edition of the book to the library. 

Portrait of William Harvey. Oil on canvas by unknown artist, c.1650. X183

Exercitatio anatomica de motu cordis et sanguinis in animalibus [Anatomical exercise on the movement of the heart and blood in animals]. William Harvey, published Frankfurt, 1628. CN22888. Photography Mike Fear 

Willian Harvey is one of the College’s most famous fellows, known for his description of how blood flows round the body in the book De motu cordis et sanguinis (1628). He donated over 1,000 books (along with surgical instruments and anatomical specimens), paid for the construction of a new library building and established the College role of Harveian Librarian – responsible to this day for the RCP’s archive, heritage library and museum. Sadly, the library building and most of its contents were lost in the Great Fire of London in 1666. 

Armorial binding stamp of Henry Pierrepont on Rosa ursina [The rose of Orsini]. Christopher Scheiner, published Bracciano, 1629. CN7110. Reproduced from Wiley Digital Archives, courtesy of Wiley Ltd. 

John Dee’s ownership signature in Liber proportionum [The book of proportions]. Jérôme de Hangest, published Paris, 1508. CN7948. Wiley Digital Archives, courtesy of Wiley Ltd. 

The bookwheel in Le diverse et artificiose machine [Various artificial machines]. Agostino Ramelli, published Paris, 1588. CN7082. Photography Mike Fear 

Lady Grace Pierrepont inherited approximately 3,000 books from her father, Henry Pierrepont, after his death in 1680. She agreed to give them to the RCP on the stipulation that a library space be provided for them. The books finally arrived in 1688, 8 years after Henry’s death. 

Henry Pierrepont, first Marquis of Dorchester, trained as a lawyer and was elected as the first honorary fellow of the College in 1658. His wide interests are reflected in the contents of his library, which includes mathematical and technical subjects, law, medicine and natural history, religious works, history, literature, philosophy and much more. He was described by a contemporary, the physician Charles Goodall, as a ‘devourer of books’. His library contained over 100 books that had previously been owned by the Elizabethan polymath, John Dee. 

Grace Pierrepont’s donation remains the largest single contribution to the library. During this exhibition, her portrait hangs in the Dorchester Library for the first time, reflecting her profound impact on the history of the RCP’s library.  

Find out more about Grace Pierrepont’s donation and women’s book ownership in the RCP library via the art installation Making Visible. 

Portrait of George Edwards. Engraved illustration by Ambroise Tardieu after Bartholomew Dandridge, 1773. PR847

Illustrations from A natural history of uncommon birds. George Edwards, published London 1743–1751. CN12782, CN12784. Photography by Mike Fear 

George Edwards was both an esteemed ornithologist and an important RCP staff member. He was College ‘Bedell’ (custodian) for 30 years and had responsibility during that time for the daily administration and security of the library. He gave the RCP library all seven volumes of his masterworks; A natural history of uncommon birds and Gleanings of natural history. These were to be used as reference copies for anyone wanting to check the accuracy of the colours in the extraordinary illustrations within their own copies of Edwards’ work.  

Portrait of Matthew Baillie. Oil on canvas by Sir Thomas Lawrence, 1806. X111 

Illustrations of the nerves from Tabulae neurologicae [Neurological tables]. Antonio Scarpa, published Pavia, 1794. CN22208. Photography by Mike Fear 

Matthew Baillie was a successful anatomist and pathologist, and a royal physician who attended George III at the end of this life. In his will, Baillie left ‘all the copper-plates belonging to my work upon morbid anatomy; and all my medical, chemical, and anatomical books whatsoever.’ This amounted to 65 copper sheets, used to print the illustrations in his Morbid anatomy of some of the most important parts of the human body (1799–1803), and over 650 books and 50 manuscripts – mostly contemporary medical works, much needed by the library at that time.  

Portrait of David Lloyd Roberts. Oil on canvas by Sir William Orpen, 1923. X371

Illustration of England in Liber chronicarum [Nuremberg Chronicle]. Hartmann Schedel, published Augsburg, 1497. CN12984. Reproduced from Wiley Digital Archives, courtesy of Wiley Ltd. 

Booke of receipts by Mary Goodson, 1687. MS251 

Welsh obstetrician and gynaecologist David Lloyd Roberts was a keen bibliophile and book collector. He bequeathed the RCP ‘my old medical books’, amounting to 1,800 volumes and 26 manuscripts. Among these were several handwritten recipe books, nearly 50 incunables (books published in the earliest years of printing in Europe, before 1501), and notable 16th- and 17th-century English medical books which had previously been lacking from the library. Other works from his library were left to the John Rylands Library at the University of Manchester – and works of fine art and applied arts were offered to Manchester City Art Gallery.  

Roy Dobbin’s bookplate in Sermones. Bernard of Clairvaux, published Mainz, 1475. CN22006. Reproduced from Wiley Digital Archives, courtesy of Wiley Ltd. 

Illustration of the human skeleton in Mansur's Anatomy. Manṣūr ibn Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad, 15th century, this copy made in 1656. MSTR46

Irish physician and surgeon Roy Dobbin was professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at the Royal School of Medicine in Cairo, where he lived from the early 1900s until his death. He gave the RCP 30 Arabic and Persian manuscripts, which were mostly medical, and 12 printed books. His bequest included the oldest printed book in the library, which you can see in the first section of the exhibition.   

Humphry Davy Rolleston’s bookplate in Sir Thomas Browne's Religio medici; Letter to a friend, etc.; and Christian morals. Published London, 1881. CN12694

Death and the physician in The dance of death exhibited in elegant engravings on wood. Francis Douce, published London, 1833. CN21024

RCP president Humphry Davy Rolleston gave at least 80 books to the RCP, of which 50 were versions of the ‘dance of death’: a popular illustrated portrayal of death’s relentless pursuit of people from all levels of society dating back to medieval Europe.  

Portrait of Gladys Mary Wauchope. Photograph, artist unknown, mid-20th century 

Novum Testamentum graece et latine [New Testament in Greek and Latin]. Edited by Desiderius Erasmus, published Basel, 1558. CN51447. Reproduced from Wiley Digital Archives, courtesy of Wiley Ltd.

Gladys Mary Wauchope was the first of about 70 female medical students to be admitted to the London Hospital Medical College after the World War I. She left 21 rare and early books to the RCP in her will, including religious and literary works uncommon in the doctors’ library. She noted in a copy of Euripides’ play Hippolytus (1796) that it was ‘Bought off a barrow in Whitechapel’ in 1920 when she was still a medical student. 

Portrait of Richard Hale. Oil on canvas by Jonathan Richardson, date unknown. X74 

Richard Hale bequest bookplate in Novum Italiae Theatrum [The new theatre of Italy]. Joannes Blaeu, published The Hague, 1724. CN22194. Reproduced from Wiley Digital Archives, courtesy of Wiley Ltd. 

Illustration of the city of Luca in Novum Italae Theatrum. Joannes Blaeu, published The Hague, 1724. CN22194. Reproduced from Wiley Digital Archives, courtesy of Wiley Ltd. 

Richard Hale gave the College a total of £500 to buy books: £50 during his lifetime and a further £450 as a bequest in his will. This is the equivalent of approximately £58,000 today. With this donation, the RCP bought 100 books, including illustrated guides to animals and several dictionaries. The purchases were marked with a specially-designed bookplate, acknowledging his generosity.