Antique Medical and Surgical Instruments: A Directory of Reference Sources

Nicholas Webb, MSIS
Archivist & Digital Preservation Librarian
(914) 594-4209
nwebb4@nymc.edu

Identifying an unknown antique medical or surgical instrument can be a challenge, but it is often possible to identify an otherwise unknown item by comparing it to illustrations in contemporary manufacturer's catalogs. The primary and secondary sources below have been recommended members of the LAMPHHS (Librarians, Archivists and Museum Professionals in the History of the Health Sciences) community as useful sources for identifying antique medical and surgical instruments.

This list is maintained by the College Archivist of New York Medical College on behalf of the history of medicine community. Suggestions for additional entries, particularly secondary reference sources on historic equipment used by particular specialties, can be sent to the contact address on this page. The header image above is taken from page six of George Tiemann & Co.'s 1879 American armamentarium chirurgicum.

The items below are a representative selection of illustrated catalogs issued by medical and surgical manufacturers in the 19th and early 20th centuries. This list is not meant to be a comprehensive bibliography of all the public domain catalogs available online or in print, but rather a starting point for identification and research. A review of the illustrations in the relevant section of a manufacturer's catalog can often help identify an otherwise unknown item.

• 1858: John F. Kuemerle (Philadelphia, PA): Illustrated catalogue of surgical and dental instruments and syringes.
• 1879: George Tiemann & Co. (New York, NY): The American armamentarium chirurgicum.
• 1888: Noyes Bros. & Cutler (St. Paul, MN): Illustrated catalogue of surgical, dental and veterinary instruments, galvanic batteries, artificial limbs, artificial eyes, deformity apparatus, elastic stockings, trusses, etc., etc.
• 1889: Sharp & Smith (Chicago, IL): Catalogue of Sharp & Smith: importers, manufacturers, wholesale and retail dealers in surgical instruments, deformity apparatus, artificial limbs, artificial eyes, elastic stockings, trusses, crutches, supporters, galvanic and faradic batteries, etc., surgeons' appliances of every description.
• 1896: James Wooley, Sons & Co. (Manchester, England): Catalogue of surgeons' instruments and medical appliances, electro-therapeutic apparatus, sundries for the surgery and sick room, medicine chests, etc.
• 1901: Blees-Moore Instrument Co. (St. Louis, MO): Surgical instruments, elastic stockings, abdominal supporters, trusses, apparatus for deformities, electric batteries, physicians' supplies, hospital and invalid furniture.
• 1906: Down Bros, Ltd. (London, England): A catalogue of surgical instruments and appliances, also of aseptic hospital furniture, including a large number of original designs.
• 1915: Kny-Scheerer Instrument Co. (New York, NY): Illustrations of surgical instruments of superior quality manufactured by the Kny-Scheerer Company. 20th edition.
• 1915: Hudson Surgical Co. (Union Hill, NJ): Illustrated catalogue of standard surgical instruments and allied lines.
• 1921: E.B. Meyrowitz, Inc. (New York, NY): Ophthalmological apparatus, eye, ear, nose & throat surgical instruments, specialists' equipment.
• 1957: Sklar Manufacturing Company (New York, NY): Surgical instruments, suction pressure and anesthesia apparatus.

These secondary sources have been recommended as high-quality reference sources on the design and manufacture of medical and surgical instruments. Suggestions of additional reference sources are appreciated, particularly secondary literature on the history of instrument design in particular specialties. They can be sent to the contact address on this page.

• Currier, Dean P. Guide to Electrotherapy Instruments and History of Their American Makers. Pennsylvania: Infinity Publishing, 2004.
  • Reference source on the history of "electro-therapeutic" instruments.
• Edmonson, James M. American Surgical Instruments: An Illustrated History of their Manufacture and a Directory of Instrument Makers to 1900. San Francisco: Norman Publishing, 1997.
  • The standard reference work on the history of American surgical instrument manufacture. Extensively illustrated.
• Marks, Geoffrey and William K. Beatty. The Precious Metals of Medicine. New York: Scribner's, 1975.
  • "A panoramic view of the contribution of metals to medical practice." Includes discussion of why certain metals were used in specific instruments and an extensive bibliography.