MEDICAL ANTIQUES ARCHIVES
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A very rare c. 1800 antique bloodletting spring lancet with brass body engraved with scenes of medicinal leeches. The unusual instrument comes with its original case.
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A fine patent 1875 antique steam atomizer by Tiemann, New York. The outfit is complete and includes the original wood packing case with instructions pasted to the lid. According to Tiemann, the atomizer may be used For the Production of Steam of Hot Water, Vapors and Fumes of Ether, Chloroform, Iodine, &c., and the Atomization or Nebulization of Medicated Fluids, for Inhalation in Affections of the Air Passages. This atomizer was sold through the druggist Jas. B. Mason, 328 Brady Street, Davenport, Iowa. See Tiemann 1889, p. 284, fig. 2581.
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A c. 1750 antique dental toothkey with an unusual detachable iron handle. Note the decorative flourishes of the bands on the shaft and to the wing screw that keeps the handle in place. The straight shaft is one characteristic of early toothkeys.
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A c. 1860 carte-de-visite thought to be of Lorenzo Niles Fowler (1811-1896), the well-known 19th century phrenologist. Based initially in New York City, then in London, Fowler read the heads on many of the era's most famous personages, including Walt Whitman, Mark Twain, and Clara Barton. Note the phrenology bust on the table.
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A fine c. 1850 antique
phrenology bust inkwell embossed along the front: By F. Bridges /
Phrenologist. The use of gold accents, as opposed to the more
common blue, is an attraction. 5.5" tall.
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A rare c. 1650 hand-wrought iron dental forceps. The lock is a rather sophisticated box type. The tips are bifurcated.
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A c. 1760 third-type Levret obstetrical forceps. See Das, pp. 168-175 and fig. 183.
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A fine 1941 date U.S. Navy surgeon’s double-breasted tunic for the rank of captain. A label within an inside pocket reads: Naval Uniform Shop / Naval Clothing Depot / Brooklyn, New York / Name: W.P. KROSHEL / Date: 4/2/41. The sleeve insignia, including caduceuses, and ribbon bars with stars are sewn on. All the original U.S Navy medical branch buttons are present. By family history, Captain Kroshel was an assistant surgeon-general in the Navy. The tunic is in superb condition.
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A very high quality c. 1860 Stokes' monaural stethoscope of finely-turned rosewood and ivory. This instrument is 8" long, considered large for a monaural stethoscope. William Stokes (1804-1878), of Dublin, who was an early follower of Laennec, is the inventor. Stokes is noted for his studies on diseases of the chest and the heart and aorta. See Tiemann 1889, p. 5, fig. 1031.
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A complete cased set of four antique ophthalmic surgical cataract knives by Weiss, London. The handles are ivory. A Weiss cataract knife plays prominently in the Sherlock Holmes episode The Silver Blaze....
“I presume that you made an inventory of what he had in his pockets at the time of his death, Inspector?”
“I have the things themselves in the sitting-room if you would care to see them.”
“I should be very glad.” We all filed into the front room and sat round the central table while the inspector unlocked a square tin box and laid a small heap of things before us. There was a box of vestas, two inches of tallow candle, an A D P brier-root pipe, a pouch of sealskin with half an ounce of long-cut Cavendish, a silver watch with a gold chain, five sovereigns in gold, an aluminum pencil-case, a few papers, and an ivory-handled knife with a very delicate, inflexible blade marked Weiss & Co., London.
“This is a very singular knife,” said Holmes, lifting it up and examining it minutely. “I presume, as I see blood-stains upon it, that it is the one which was found in the dead man’s grasp. Watson, this knife is surely in your line?”
“It is what we call a cataract knife,” said I.
“I thought so. A very delicate blade devised for very delicate work. A strange thing for a man to carry with him upon a rough expedition, especially as it would not shut in his pocket.”
“The tip was guarded by a disc of cork which we found beside his body,” said the inspector. “His wife tells us that the knife had lain upon the dressing-table, and that he had picked it up as he left the room. It was a poor weapon, but perhaps the best that he could lay his hands on at the moment.”
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J. Julian Chisolm, A Manual of Military Surgery for the Use of Surgeons in the Confederate States Army. 2nd ed. 514 pp. Richmond: West & Johnson, 1862. Chisolm (1830-1903) was the foremost surgeon in the Confederacy, and his important military surgery manual went through three editions. This Civil War book is signed and dated by the original owner: T[homas] D. Stokes and June 7th 1862. Dr. Stokes (1817-1886) was born in Caswell Co, North Carolina, and practice and died in Danville, Virginia. He was an 1839 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. This Confederate manual is in fine condition and has its original binding, medical forms, and foldout.
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A c. 1780-1800 dental scaling set with five of six superbly made instruments. Each tool has a silver ferrule and a faceted-agate handle. The case is covered in shagreen and has a velvet interior. This is the first scaling set with agate handles that this dealer has encountered.
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A large c. 1770 antique capital amputation saw with frame stamped: NANCY (France). The blade was replaced in the early 19th century, most likely, and has a mark that reads: GOLDENBERG, a well-known French tool maker. The massive grip is ebony and the overall length of the saw is 19.5".
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A December 1864 Civil War Confederate partially printed document signed, by the Post Quartermaster, Petersburg, Virginia. This is a receipt for the property of a deceased soldier. It states: Received of John T. Kilby Surgeon in Charge of C.S. Hospital, the sum of Seven Dollars and 25 Cents, the property of E.R. Whitford...deceased Soldier... According to the General Orders No. 63 (August 1864), a dead soldier's clothing was to be washed and presented to a quartermaster for re-issue. Dr. John T. Kilby enlisted in the Confederate Army on Jan 13, 1863, as a surgeon. He was assigned to the 3rd Georgia Infantry and served later at Howard's Grove Hospital, Richmond. On April 26, 1864 Kilby was ordered to the Confederate State's Hospital at Petersburg. He was an 1847 graduate of Jefferson Medical College, and he resided in Suffolk, Virginia.
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