MEDICAL ANTIQUES ARCHIVES
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An antique c. 1880 Cammann binaural stethoscope with spring and set screw adjustment.
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An antique x-ray tube by Swett and Lewis, a Boston company in business until c. 1905. The high frequency x-ray tube fixed to a stand may be seen on page 32 of this Swett and Lewis 1905 catalogue...http://www.electrotherapymuseum.com/2005/CycloneCoilbook/index.htm. See the 1906 catalogue of Swett & Lewis' successor on page 20 of this PDF that illustrates the tube.... http://www.case.edu/affil/MeMA/MCA2/38.pdf. The tube is 17.5" long.
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A CDV Brady portrait of Dr. Valentine Mott (1785-1865), of New York City, one of the most eminent surgeons of his day. For an interesting biography, please see this link.
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A University of New York Class of Surgery lecture ticket for the session 1842-1843. The teacher was Valentine Mott, M.D. (1785-1865), and he has autographed the card. For an interesting biography of Valentine Mott, please see this link. The ticket was issued to Franklin Tuthill (1822-1865). Dr. Tuthill's career spanned medicine, politics, and journalism. At the time of his death, Tuthill was finishing a book titled The History of California, which was published in San Francisco in 1866. See his New York Times obituary at this link.
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A stereoview of a Civil War amputation scene at Camp Letterman General Hospital, Gettysburg, October 1863. The surgeon stands in profile and holds a large Liston flap amputation knife. An assistant can be seen administering anesthesia to the patient. For an excellent discussion of this photo and others of the type, see William Frassanito, Early Photography at Gettysburg.
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A very fine antique Whittemore's Patent vaccinator made by Codman & Shurtleff, Boston. The vaccinating instrument is in excellent condition and is housed in its original wood case. To see a copy of the Amos Whittemore 1866 patent, please click here.
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An interesting 1830s wooden case with eighteen various glass bottles of medications. Most of the bottles are hand-blown and have their original contents and handwritten labels. Examples of the medications are Pig Oil, Castor Oil, and Goldenrod Oil. One bottle is half full of Spanish Flies! A molded-glass bottle contains ATTWOOD'S JAUNDICE BITTERS. In addition to giving the contents, one label is dated 1834 and another is dated 1836. The outfit is said to have belonged to Dr. Hubbard of Gilsom, New Hampshire.
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A teaching binaural Fleischer stethoscope made by Becton Dickinson, Rutherford, N.J.
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A chain saw used for resectioning bone. One end of the chain is unhooked from one ebony handle as ready to be thread behind the bone to be cut.
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A CDV of a doctor with a skull, London, c. 1860s.
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A very fine solid gold, silver gilt, and enameled Civil War 20th Corps badge with the emblem of the State of Connecticut and the 5th Connecticut Volunteers. The bar is inscribed in block letters: SURGEON J.B. LEWIS. The reverse of the star-shaped Civil War medal is further hand-engraved in a following script the battle honors: Winchester, Cedar Mountain, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Resaca, Cassville, Dallas, Culp's Farm, Lost Mountain, Peach Tree Creek, Atlanta, Savannah, Charleston, Silver Run, Bentonville.
Doctor John Benjamin Lewis (1832-1914) was from Hartford and an 1853 graduate of New York University Medical College, New York. He served in the Civil War as Surgeon to the 5th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry from July 1861 April 1862. On 4 April 1862, he was appointed a Brigade Surgeon U.S. Volunteers. He was brevetted a Lieutenant Colonel on 1 October 1865, then mustered-out 6 days later. He held several important Medical Department positions, including head of the army hospitals at Frederick City, Maryland, and at Cumberland, Maryland.
For a more complete biography of Doctor Lewis, please click here.
Matching with the above medal is Lewis' gold-plated Knights Templar medal that features a bust of President Washington and Connecticut references.
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A fine monaural stethoscope turned from genuine ivory.
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A c. 1840s trephine set by W. & H. Hutchinson, Sheffield. The set is complete with all of its original instruments. The handles are made of horn. The trephine has an exceptionally fancy stem and the steel sliding pin mechanism of the crowns is coated in a spectacular bluing. The Hey’s saw has a most unusually shaped-head. Several of the instruments are marked and the maker’s embossed-card is attached to the lining of the inner lid. The card also has the notation $16. This is a set that would have been sold initially in the U.S. as new stock, and Hutchinson is a well-known exporter of surgical instruments to mid-nineteenth century America. See Bennion, p. 321.
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A c. 1830s capital amputation saw by Tiemann, New York. The bow frame, the shape of the ivory handle, and the trefoil tension screw have antecedents in eighteenth century saws. This is one of the finest American surgical instruments.
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A Maris patent 1864 U.S. Army Regulation Field Medicine Case. The interior label says that this pattern of case was approved by the U.S. Army in June of 1864 and that the patent is pending. Subsequently, the patent was issued in November of 1864. According to the inventor, John M. Maris, Philadelphia, this medicine case was an improvement over earlier cases as it was lighter in weight and as it was designed to protect the contents should it be dropped. The label lists the full original contents under the headings of MEDICINES, DRESSINGS, BANDAGES, and FURNITURE. The case was to worn at the waist and was supported by a shoulder strap and a waist belt. To my knowledge, there were four different approved field medicine cases used by the Union army during the Civil War. At the beginning of the war, a large wicker and tarred-cloth knapsack was the regulation case. This was superceded by the rather heavy and over-loaded wood-framed and leather-covered regulation 1862 backpack. In 1863, the Coolidge Surgeon’s Companion, worn on the hip, became the regulation case. The last regulation field case of the war is that offered here. This dealer is aware of one example of the wicker case, three examples of wood-famed case, some 20 Coolidge cases, and only two examples of the 1864 field case. The Maris case is in excellent condition and has a wonderful window pane and feathers interior lining. The interior dividers are in place, though the contents have all been lost. The shoulder and waist straps and buckles are present. Maris was a well-known medical supplier during the war, and he was one of the makers of the previous Collidge Surgeon’s Companion medicine case.
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