Curved steel knife, or bistoury, with “FORD” and “SHEPARD & DUDLEY, N.Y.” inscriptions on the ivory handle. William Fraser Ford (1820-1897) was a machinist from England who arrived in New York in 1848 and learned to make surgical instruments. His firm became Wade & Ford in 1861, and William F. Ford & Co. after the Civil War. In 1870, he began working under the auspices of the businessmen, Shepard & Dudley.