The Macintosh Collection was created by Sir Robert Reynolds Macintosh, a Nuffield Professor of Anesthetics at Oxford. The collection consists of the documents relating to the life and research of anesthetist Joseph Thomas Clover. In addition there are correspondence, research and notes written by Sir Robert Macintosh, which were collected during his research into the life of anesthetist John Snow. There are also notes and correspondence by Dr. K Bryn Thomas, a visiting medical historian and anesthetist who arranged, catalogued and annotated the collection in 1971. Throughout the collection, there are various notations, transcriptions and notes written by Dr. Thomas that occurred during his processing of the collection. The current arrangement of the collection is still largely the arrangement applied originally by Dr. Thomas.
The materials related to Joseph Thomas Clover spans the beginning of his career until the end of his life. They include obituaries and eulogies of his death (1882-83), and articles in magazines on Clover after his death (1913, 1928). There are photographs of Joseph Thomas Clover and his wife, Mary Ann Clover in various poses and a small, hand-drawn family tree of the Clover family. Clover’s observations, patient notes, hand-draw sketches of anatomy and apparatus and even some small books Clover used for financial recordkeeping, are present, some in small, bound volumes and others in loose pages. Clover’s original article of indenture (1841) and testimonials regarding his qualities as a doctor are also present. Correspondence within the collection include discussions on anesthesia, requests from patients and for apparatus, letters of condolences Mary Ann Clover after the death of Joseph Clover (1882) and letters to Clover’s daughter regarding her father’s legacy (1913). A small amount of the letters has been transcribed by K Bryn Thomas and present in the correspondence section. There is a small collection of cards bearing advice and quotations from Clover’s father, J.W. Clover, pertaining to weddings, finances, and life, as well as Clover’s own notes on God and life (1859-65). There are also several sheets of pressed flowers.
The second portion of the Joseph Thomas Clover collection was organized by subject matter by K Bryn Thomas. The sections are largely undated and cover Clover’s notes on ether, nitrous oxide and ether, chloroform, nitrous oxide, as well as a large amount of hand written notes covering various anesthetic subjects. Clover’s notes also discuss the deaths from chloroform and resuscitation. There are also hand-drawn illustrations of various apparatus inventions and experiments.
The third section of the collection contains the material collected by Sir Robert Macintosh during his research into anesthetist John Snow. This section contains biographical sketches by Sir Robert Macintosh, letters of correspondence between John Snow’s descendants and Sir Robert Macintosh, and a speech given regarding John Snow in 1955. There are a few correspondences regarding the gifting of Snow’s book <em>On Cholera</em>. A transcript of Snow’s article <em>On Asphyxia</em> is also contained in the collection. There are also copies, transcripts, and correspondence relating to Snow’s will, and his burial certificate. The remainder of the collection consist of items about John Snow, including correspondence to his descendants regarding his memorial tombstone, correspondence to his publishers regarding his books, and items written about John Snow himself.