Leslie Cowlishaw (1877–1943): the “bibliophile from the bush”

The article by Roxanas1 is an excellently researched piece; however, the comments regarding the stewardship of the Cowlishaw Collection by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) and the collection’s public availability should be corrected.

Roxanas states that “it is one of the most significant medical history collections in Australia, but the public has difficulty accessing it, and many items are in disrepair and in urgent need of restoration”. This may give the impression that the RACS does not understand the value of the collection and, possibly, that it is negligent in its custody.

The Cowlishaw Collection, part of the college’s large rare and historic books collection, comprises over 2000 volumes. Most of them are in sound condition, but there are about 120 volumes in need of remedial attention. Twelve years ago, our college curator instituted a program of phase boxing for all our damaged rare and historic books pending permanent repairs and conservation. The program began with the Cowlishaw Collection and is continuing.

The RACS takes seriously its responsibility for preserving these important documents, understanding that they represent the most important collection of historical medical books in Australia, with volumes dating from as early as 1483. Conservation is hampered by the small number of specialists with the necessary skills to whom the volumes can be entrusted.

In 1979, the RACS published a catalogue of its historic books, including the Cowlishaw Collection, written by Professor Kenneth Russell. However, in the 21st century, this is not the most appropriate method of alerting scholars to the collection. Therefore, the Russell catalogue has been digitised and is freely accessible on the RACS website (http://search.surgeons.org/search?getfields=∗&client=default_frontend&proxystylesheet=default_frontend&site=default_collection&q=Cowlishaw%20Collection). The collection is a closed one and we welcome requests from scholars — which should be addressed to our curator — to study these volumes.

The RACS fully recognises the historic worth and irreplaceability of the collection and our responsibility to maintain it for posterity.