Arnold of London Sharp Crotchet Hook - 1800's.
An Arnold crotchet hook with an unplated steel blade and an ebony T handle with circular scrolling machined into the ends. The overall length is 10½” (266mm) with the handle grip 3½“(89mm) wide. The hook end is bevelled and folded back at the widest point. It is marked clearly Arnold London on the shaft near to the handle and this dates it prior to 1857 when it became Arnold and Son.
Date : Approx 1820 - 1860
Dimensions : Length is 10½”(266mm) and handle 3½“(89mm) wide. More detailed images are shown on the right.
STOCK # NMC-OG13/003 Price (GBP) - SOLD IN THE UK (Price does not include postage, which is at cost) |
Arnold of London Sharp Crotchet Hook - 1800's.
Detail of crotchet hooks from 1890 Arnold & Sons Catalogue.
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Folding Scalpel marked Elser.
A folding and locking scalpel with tortoiseshell covers. The blade is marked Elser on the tang. It is presented in excellent condition, and looking at the condition of both the blade and the covers I would doubt if they have been used. The shell covers are not ‘nibbled’ or scratched and are strengthened at the ends by metal fillets, all the rivets and locking mechanism are present and secure. The hinge is tight and has no play whilst the blade has a perfect edge without any rust or pitting. The plating is perfect but has some light age related marks.
Elser is listed as a French manufacturer in ‘Bennion’s Antique Medical Instrument Book’ and based on the style of the case I would date to approx 1840 – 1860. The cutting blade length is 2⅜” (63mm). Open it measures 7½” (190mm) whilst closed it is 4½” (113mm) It is presented in excellent condition from a rare European maker. Elser was known to produce instruments for the famous French surgeon Eugène Koeberlé to the Faculté de médecine in Strasbourg. Koeberlé specialised in abdominal surgery, pioneering work involving ovariectomy & hysterectomy operations. He gained international renown due to his outstanding ability in resection of ovarian cysts and in hysterectomy and was one of the first to perform these operations successfully.
He invented many surgical instruments, among them effective haemostatic forceps for which he is credited, a precursor of present day surgical haemostats. Competing with surgeon Jules-Émile Péan to develop effective haemostatic forceps, Péan favoured the instrument maker Guéride of Paris, whilst Koeberlé called upon the services of Elser to fashion his designs. Date : Approx 1840 - 1860
Dimensions : Length - 7½” (190mm) and closed it is 4½” (113mm) More detailed images are shown on the right.
STOCK # NMC-SU12/002 Price (GBP) - SOLD IN UK (Price does not include postage, which is at cost) |
Folding Scalpel marked Elser. |
Leech Jar.
A reproduction leech jar of the style produced by S Alcock of Burselem, Stoke-on-Trent in the mid 1800’s. This is one of a set of three reproductions jars produced by the NPA (National Pharmacy Association) in the early 1980’s. Presented in smooth glazed cream, it is decorated on the lid finial and handle with profuse dark blue colouring.
Date : Approx 1980 (Reproduction)
Dimensions : Height 16” (407mm) a 7½” (191mm) diameter base foot and is approx 11” (280mm) at the widest. More detailed images are shown on the right.
STOCK # NMC-BL13/001 Price (GBP) - SOLD TO RUSSIA (Price does not include postage, which is at cost) |
Leech Jar.
Close up of gilded label cartouche.
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19thC Folding Single blade Vectis.
A fine single bladed folding vectis with ebony handle. 19th
Century obstetric vectis used to facilitate in obstructed labour to try to
reposition the head. Used in a similar way to forceps but because there was
only a single blade they were often referred to as ‘Levers’. This example is marked
Brown & Son and folds at its mid point allowing it to be easily carried in
an obstetric bag. Unplated steel with good even age related patina and an ebony handle
noting a hairline stress crack around the lower rivet.
11½” (292 mm) in length.
Bennion records Brown working as a cutler in Whitechapel Road, London from 1820’s until moving to Townsend Road & then Connaught Terrace in the 1850’s. There is no trace after 1861 Date : Approx. 1840 - 1860
Dimensions : Length is11½” (292 mm) and 9” (229 mm) folded. More detailed images are shown on the right.
STOCK # NMC-OG15/001 Price (GBP) - SOLD IN U.S.A. (Price does not include postage, which is at cost) |
19thC Folding Single Blade Vectis.
Vectis in folded position.
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19th C Veterinary Spring Fleam in Leather Case.
A brass veterinary fleam of bulbous design from approx.
1830. Presented in perfect condition with a matching leather bound case. Perfect
condition with a simple lift lever to ‘prime’ the fleam and a push button
action that releases the sprung blade. Screw adjustment of the lever adjusts
the depth of the blade.
As described in Elisabeth Bennion’s Antique Medical Instrument’s
book.
Date : Approx. 1820 - 1850
Dimensions : Fleam is 3” (76mm) and case measures 4" (101mm) long and 1½” (38mm) wide. More detailed images are shown on the right.
STOCK # NMC-VE15/001 Price (GBP) - SOLD IN THE UK (Price does not include postage, which is at cost) |
19th C Veterinary Spring Fleam in Leather Case.
Fleam in shaped leather case.
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Arnold & Sons Exploring Trocar
An exploring trocar marked Arnold & Sons of London, heavy nickel plating on brass and with a steel needle it is complete with a delicate silver trocar that is stored in the handle compartment. Overall length is 5” (128mm) with a steel piercing needle of 2” (51mm) & the silver trocar tube matched with the needle is 1½”(38mm) in length.
Used for exploring tissues or for inserting drainage tubes in oedema or ascites. Percivall Potts (1715-1788) was recorded as using a trocar with a guard to the cannula & triangular point to the perforator. By 1842 Sir William Ferguson had introduced an exploring cannula for hydrocephalus and by the mid 19thC trocars were used in all manner of procedures. A variation was introduced by Henry Herbert Southey (1783-1865) the physician to King George IV. his trocar (Southey’s Tubes) contained 4 cannulae in the handle compartment so that another cannula was available when it was desirable to leaving the previous one in situ. Arnold & Sons was established in Smithfield, London in 1819 and continued to trade under that name until 1923 when it was bought by John Bell & Croyden Ltd which in turn was brought by Savoury & Moore in 1928. It continued to trade from Wigmore Street, London.
In the Arnold & Sons catalogue of 1873 on page 103, an exploring trocar was priced upwards from 6s/6d which in 2012 terms is approx £112.00. Silver was often used but not always marked; it was used in instruments that did not require ‘force of use’ as it is slightly malleable but easy & precise to form. Secondly it was noted that infection when in contact with the metal was substantially less, and whether this was by accident or design, we now know that silver salts are an effective antibacterial agent. Date : Approx 1890 - 1910
Dimensions : Overall length is 5” (128mm) with a steel needle of 2” (51mm) and silver trocar tube 1½”(38mm) in length. More detailed images are shown on the right.
STOCK # NMC-SU13/006 Price (GBP) - £ 50.00 (Price does not include postage, which is at cost) |
Arnold & Sons Exploring Trocar
1873 Arnold & Sons Catalogue Page
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Silver Eustachian Catheters by Down Bros of London.
A matching set of three silver eustachian catheters by Down Bros of London. Each is 5½” (140mm) in length and graduated in marked sizes of 3, 4 and 5 Fr gauge. They all bear the manufacturers mark. They are wrapped in original tissue within a protective wooden tube. (A 1950’s NHS Postal Tube). They have been lightly cleaned for the photographs but retain patina & show no signs of handling oxidation or surface dents and I feel have seen little or no use.
They are Woakes’ pattern catheters from the early 20th Century around 1920-1930. The pattern is still in use today and is virtually identical to Kramer’s pattern catheter which tends to be more widely used in the US. (See identification diagrams from catalogues on right.) Included is an appointment card from the Throat Hospital in Golden Square, Soho, London W1. The Throat Hospital was founded in 1863 by Sir Morell Mackenzie (1837-1892) and was the earliest ENT Hospital in London. In 1904, the King's Fund proposed that the five ENT hospitals in London (the Central London Throat & Ear Hospital, The Hospital for Diseases of the Throat, the Royal Ear Hospital, The London Throat Hospital and The Metropolitan Ear Nose and Throat Hospital) should amalgamate. Negotiations began between the Royal Ear Hospital & the London Throat Hospital, but by 1913 these had broken down. Eventually in 1918 the London Throat Hospital merged with the Throat Hospital in Golden Square W1. This appointment card is presented from this Hospital. It shows Mr F C Ormerod as Assistant Surgeon & Mr T Jefferson Faulder as the Consulting Surgeon. Mr Ormerod (1894-1967) was assistant surgeon from 1919 after leaving the forces until the late 1920’s. Mr Jefferson Faulder (1871-1935) was the consulting surgeon at this and other London Hospitals. He retired from practice in 1934, whilst Mr Ormerod appears to have gone to Manchester to take on more senior roles by the early 1930’s. The card was obtained along with the catheters and as a result the items can be fairly reliably dated to between 1924 & 1929. The card which is 4½” x 3” (112mm x 76mm) is in good condition for its age. Damaging or losing a card was seen as a serious misdemeanour, the cards were issued to provide entitlement to free treatment for the ‘necessitous poor’ prior to the inception of the NHS in 1948. (see reverse of card.) An unusual addition to a collection of ENT related items with provenance. They are not hallmarked, but this is surprisingly common on medical instruments. Silver was often used but not always marked. It was a popular choice for catheters as they are slightly malleable and can be adapted in use. It was also noted that infection when in contact with the metal was substantially less, and whether this was by accident or design, we now know that silver is an effective antibacterial agent.
The French scale or French gauge system is commonly used to measure the size of a catheter. Often abbreviated as Fr, but can be abbreviated as Fg, Ga, FR, F or even CH or Ch (from Charrière its inventor * see below).
Joseph Frédéric Benoît Charrière (1803–1876) was Swiss, he moved to Paris and apprenticed to a cutler and in 1820 he founded a company manufacturing surgical instruments which quickly grew to employ over 400 people by 1840 and was world famous by the time of his death.
He pioneered many developments and improved a number of instruments, especially hypodermic needles and catheters. Charrière developed the French (Fr) or Charrière (Ch) gauge system used in sizing catheters and now endoscopic equipment (1 Charr. = 0.333 mm). His contributions were widespread and are still evident today, the French catheter scale being named after his work. Some of his apprentices went on to become well known instrument makers in their own right including Louis Joseph Mathieu, Adolphe Collin, Josef Leiter, Camillus Nyrop and Georges Guillaume Amatus Lüer (Luer needle fitting) In 1865, Charrière decided to sell his successful company to two of his pupils including Adolphe Collin who renamed the company Collin & Company. In 1930 the company became Charrière, Collin & Gentile. Dr Edward G. Woakes (1837–1912) was an aural surgeon. He was born in Luton and studied medicine at the University of London. He spent his early career at St. Thomas' Hospital and his name first appears on the register of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1859. From 1876 he focused his interest on Otology, Rhinology & Laryngology. In 1887 he helped found the London Throat Hospital at 204 Portland Street, London W1 with Dr. William McNeill Whistler (1836-1900) an American surgeon who had settled in London. The Hospital was small, initially having only four beds and also had premises at 72 Bolsover Street, almost adjacent to the building in Great Portland Street.
Wilhelm Kramer (1801-1876) was a German physician and the first to describe eustachian catheterisation and drainage, his designs may well have been developed further by Woakes. Woakes worked at Golden Square Hospital and was appointed Senior Aural Surgeon at the London Hospital where he taught otology. He also had a distinguished Harley Street practice and published on such topics as deafness, migraine, vertigo & diphtheria. Date : Approx 1920 - 1930
Dimensions : Each is 5½” (140mm) in length. More detailed images are shown on the right.
STOCK # NMC-SU13/007 Price (GBP) - £ 75.00 (Price does not include postage, which is at cost) |
Silver Eustachian Catheters by Down Bros of London.
1904 Downs Bros catalogue page showing both Woakes & Kramer Eustachian Catheters
Detail of both sides of Throat Hospital appointment card.
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John Weiss & Sons Obstetric Blunt Hook and Crotchet.
A blunt hook and crotchet marked Weiss & Son London which would date the instrument after 1830 when the company became John Weiss & Son.Given that these instruments were falling out of use after the end of WWI and despite declining use in midwifery they were still required by law to be carried for use by ‘Surgeons on Passenger & Emigrant Ships in accordance with the Board of Trade Regulations’ and as a result was included in the John Weiss Catalogue of 1925. (See photo)
John Weiss History. John Weiss was an Austrian migrant who came to London in 1780. His father had been a cutler and Weiss took up manufacturing surgical instruments in 1787 at 42 The Strand in London, before moving to 33 The Strand in 1811 and trading as John Weiss. In 1830 he became J. Weiss & Son of 62 The Strand. From these showrooms & workshops in 1831 he published his first catalogue. He was appointed ‘Razor Maker to the King’ by William IV and from 1883 he traded as J. Weiss & Son of The Strand & 287 Oxford Street. Then from 1894 onwards he traded as J. Weiss & Son of 287 Oxford Street (formerly of 62 The Strand). The company still makes surgical instruments today and is based in Milton Keynes. Weiss had spent his life making surgical devices. For his own death he made a special item. He had a morbid fear of being buried alive, so he fashioned an instrument designed to pierce his heart as his coffin was closed. Instructions & directions for its use were contained within his will. He died on December 26th 1843 and was buried at St Nicholas Burial Ground in Brighton with his surgeon Mr Benjamin Vallance in attendance, who carried out his wishes in full to ensure his certain ‘death’. Date : Approx 1890 - 1920
Dimensions : Length - 11" (275mm) More detailed images are shown on the right.
STOCK # NMC-OG12/002 Price (GBP) - £ SOLD WITHIN UK (Price does not include postage, which is at cost) |
John Weiss & Sons Obstetric Blunt Hook and Crotchet.
Page from the Weiss Catalogue of 1925 showing Surgeon's requirements in accordance with the 'Board of Trade Regulations' for ships.
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