 In 1843 Ford had published a life of Velázquez in the Penny Cyclopaedia and in 1851 on a tour of the north of England and Scotland with Mrs Ford 'rediscovered' the "Rokeby Venus" in North Yorkshire then in the possession of William J. S. Morritt (1813–1874), (now in the National Gallery).It had been known previously to very few people and had its first public display at the 1857 Manchester Art Treasures Exhibition.In 1855 Ford published the third edition of the "Handbook", restored to two volumes and containing much new material, but by this time his health was failing.