Catalog: Antiques: Instruments and Implements: Medical (52)

Offered is a very scarce, 19th century, strength measuring medical device known as a dynamometer that was manufactured by the G. Tiemann Company, New York, the most renown and respected surgical device manufacturers of the 19th century. Sold in the US by a gymnasium apparatus company out of St. Louis, the Fred Medart Company, the device was designed to assess the strength of the chest, back and legs up to a pull capacity of 1400 lbs.

This fabulous early tool of the medical trade sports a visually-interesting, graphic, brass face with a scale delineating increments from 0 to 1400 pounds. There are 2 dials - one that notes the actual pressure achieved, and the second stationary dial that serves as the reference.

This instrument enjoys wonderful, rich patina on both the metal and wooden sections. It measures 13 inches at the widest point and 10 inches at the wooden handles.

A fabulous device which has great visual appeal and displays wonderfully! Sure to spark some interesting conversation at your next gathering!

Offered for sale is a neat 19th century apothecary bottle – TINCT. COLCH. SEM. - sporting a white with gold bordered painted glass label!

The 8.5 inch tall bottle has the manufacturer's letters “W.T.CO. – Pat. 1889 - USA” embossed on the base.

This label under glass (LUG) tincture bottle is in fine condition. The stopper sports ground glass construction as well. The label is complete and displays well.

This appealing bottle originated from a former pharmacy in Putnam, CT, which closed in 1949.

Offered for sale is a wonderful late 19th century, Victorian drugstore, medical advertising cup. This lovely porcelain mug has “CUDAHY’S REXOMA” printed on the lip. Beautifully hand painted pink roses and other lavender colored flowers adorn the cup on all surfaces.

The Cudahy meat packing industry dates back to the turn of the century. The Cudahy meat industry, with stockyards in Omaha, Chicago, Sioux City and Los Angeles produced the REX brand of fine beef and pork products. They also produced lard, soaps and patent medicine products such as Cudahy's Essence of Pepsin and Cudahy's Rexsoma that used the animal byproducts. The patent medicines were marketed as nutritional supplements for improved health.

This 3.5 inch tall undamaged beauty is in very good condition and very classy indeed!

A terrific image on a lovely cup that can be easily displayed anywhere in your collection.

Offered is a very lovely, antique, 12 tube Pharmacy Apothecary Suppository Mold, circa 1880. This example measures 9.5 inches long x 1.75 inches wide x 1 inch high and weighs more than 4 pounds. I believe it is made of bronze and is plated in a nickel finish.

This very durable mold has 2 wing nuts on the base that hinge downwards to facilitate opening. To close, the nuts swing upwards and are locked by screwing in place.

The only markings noted are the numbers '1' and '2' stamped on the end of each plate.

The condition is as follows: scattered small surface dings and modest dings to the edges as seen in the photos. The surface shows scratches and some loss of plating commensurate with age and an honorably-used pharmacy device. The interior surface is similar to the exterior. Overall this antique mold is in very good condition!

Offered is a recent estate find in Myrtle Beach, SC. This Patent Medicine is an unused CRANE'S Quinine and Tar Cold and Cough remedy circa 1910. This diminutive "Free Sample" is from the CRANE MEDICINE CO., Chicago, Ill and is complete with the original box and insert.

The box approximately measures 4.5"H x 1.5"W and is in fair condition missing both the top and bottom flaps and shows wear commensurate with age. The delightful 4 inch bottle sports complete front and back labels and is in undamaged condition. The insert is included and the paper is brittle with signs of loss mostly at the folded areas.

A nifty medicine for quelling coughs caused by colds, croup, bronchitis and other afflictions. The bottle and box display quite nicely as seen in the photos. A neat find!

Offered is a fabulous, antique, all original, Apothecary Show Globe complete with an outstanding and highly detailed Gargoyle hanger and elaborately designed, all brass-plated fittings! Recently acquired out of an amazing collection of exclusive, high end art glass. Photos provide close-up views of this intricately detailed, high end show globe, and the photo from the WHITALL TATUM COMPANY catalog, dated 1891, establishes the age of this beauty.

One prominent feature of this piece to be considered is the excellent condition of all brass components including the hanger! Nearly all of this wonderful brass plating remains, retaining its original glossy sheen enhanced with a rich, aged patina.

Of course, the attention to the detailing and design of all of the brass components of this globe are second to none, pushing this show globe into a class by itself. Note the intricacy and the elegance of design incorporated into both the show globe collar and the finial - simply outstanding! The gargoyle hanger typifies the Victorian era embrace of elaborate detailing with its combination of curves and curlicues, ending with the head of a fierce, warrior-like gargoyle with wide open jaws- quite capable of supporting this gorgeous show globe.

The show globe measures 22 inches tall from the top of the crown to the tip of finial. The hand blown glass globe condition wise is near perfect on the exterior, while the interior notes a mild, unobtrusive haze which will not be visible when the globe is filled with the colored water of your choice. The haziness should clean up if desired.

The elegantly sculpted wall bracket measures 10.25 inches high x 2.75 inches wide, while the ornately and richly detailed gargoyle hanger is 14.75 inches wide x 9.5 inches high.

Acquisition of this rarely found and beautifully stunning show globe is an opportunity not to be missed, absolutely the best apothecary show globe I have had the privilege of offering in over 40 years!

An exceedingly RARE and all-original, commanding group photograph of 1880's NURSES with a bit of the mysterious - might be depicting recent graduates of a nursing program with male and female head instructors or may be a photograph of hospital staff nurses with head nurse and administrator/physician. A bit of intrigue for certain, and most definitely a highly rare and unusual period nursing photo of substantial size! Found in a New York state estate.

Framed in original, period frame with wood backing (20 x 15.5 inches); the tattered matting has been removed. Photo dimensions - 14.5 x 19.5 inches. Very good condition with some light fading in the upper portion and a minute ding next to the writing. One of the nurses has the words "BAD GIRL" written above her head!

Measuring 3.25 inches high by 3.75 inches in diameter, this lovely Victorian Barber Shop, mustache or shaving cup or mug remains in excellent condition but for the subtle wear to the gilt-edged rim.

The cup is embossed with swirls, dots and bows as well as decorated further with gold-drawn designs and 2 large, hand-painted pink roses with 1 smaller cream-colored rose. The cup base is scalloped and the fancy handle is gold-gilded.

A very pretty piece!

This delightfully fancy, 19th Century, cast iron, physician's office sign marked "DR. JOHN LAGAN", once hung on a small building in turn-of-the-century San Francisco, California! It actually survived the famous earthquake of 1906!!

A treasure of early signage designed in the Art Nouveau style, this sign measures 46 inches long by 7 inches wide. The sign weighs at least 25 pounds and sports cast detailing seldom found!

The sign features a delightful and mellow patina with an old painted surface retaining traces of old blue coloring beneath the exterior battleship gray tones. Scattered areas of unobtrusive surface rust add to the wonderful appeal of this vintage sign.

Visually appealing and artfully designed, this vintage piece of signage would make an interesting addition to one's Medical Memorabilia Collection!

Offered is a scarcely found, late 19thC, pharmacy, drugstore, or apothecary Powder Folder which was used by early pharmacists to package single dose powdered medicines into individual folds of paper. This brass pharmaceutical tool of the trade was designed to more accurately ensure proper dosage, and it facilitated customer convenience by wrapping powders into separate doses.

This diminutive folder measures 3.5 inches tall x 2.25 inches wide and has a ratcheting type clip on one side designed to adjust height and width to conform to dosage size. The condition is very good and the surface sports a wonderful, rich patina.

An essential piece for the well-curated apothecary collection!

Presented in a frame is the highly colorful, visually-appealing and patriotic cover of an 83 page song book advertising BROMO-SELTZER. Prominently featured is the American flag waving beside the iconic, cobalt blue colored BROMO-SELTZER bottle!

This cleverly-designed image dates to the late 1890s to the early 1900s as it advertises the product as a CURE for all headaches. The passage of the 1906 Pure Food and Drugs Act requiring that foods and drugs bear truthful labeling statements and meet certain standards for purity and strength, prohibited the previously popular and loose use of the word "cure" in product advertising from that point forward.

This delightful song book cover is framed in a 1930s era metal frame measuring 10" x 8". The graphics are quite sharp, and the paper appears aged, consistent with its 100+ years of existence.

This handsome, late 19th century leather case is a wonderful example of a physician's traveling medicine case of this era. This particular example is larger in size and number of sections than is typically found, and additionally sports the personalized label, "Dr W. J. Gier MD" in old, silver-toned lettering on the front of the folded case.

The vintage black leather case with carrying handle on top, measures approximately 10.5" wide x 32" long when fully opened and 10.5" wide x 5.5" long x 4" deep when closed. The case is comprised of four different folding sections that house up to 28 corked vials per section, with only one vial missing from this medicine case. The clear glass medicine vials come in 2 sizes and measure about 2 to 2.5 inches tall including cork, with most vials sporting both paper label and cork. There are a few bottles labeled in red print as opposed to black, which indicates that the contents are poisons. Included are one OPIUM vial and 3 POISON vials.

The condition of the case indicates that Dr. Gier must have had a busy and lucrative practice as the case shows modest wear and tear to the leather components: loose seams, some leather loss in areas, partially detached flaps, one completely detached flap- all of which are commensurate with age and use. Some of the vial labels are also incomplete as noted in the photos.

In total, a fabulous example of the retinue of medicines that the late 19th century physician had on hand when making house calls.

Offered are two, decorative, late 19th century, English, porcelain, dental, toothpaste, pot lid containers. They are priced separately with the ORIENTAL TOOTH PASTE pot lid offered at $115.00, and the WOODS CHERRY TOOTH PASTE pot lid offered at $75.00.

The ORIENTAL TOOTH PASTE pot lid measures about 3 inches in diameter, sports a marbled exterior and is in very nice condition with a few faint edge chips to the base. There is a slight variance in color between the top and base.

The WOODS CHERRY TOOTH PASTE pot lid measures over 2.5" in diameter, sports red printing on top and is in very good condition. This container has some small chips on the interior edge of the base.

Displayed together as a pair or individually, these dental pot lids will add visual interest and appeal to your collection!

Offered is a fabulous, early 1900s, veterinary doctor sign, advertising the practice of a Dr A. A. Bennet. This 18 inch x 11 inch brass sign is a wonderful advertisement piece. The black painted lettering has been cut into the brass sign to give a two dimensional effect.

Veterinary signs of any type are quite scarce! Wonderful patina!

Offered is a hard to find painted cast iron meat and juice press from the late 19th century.

This dual purpose pharmacy tool of the trade measures about 9 inches high and retains much of its original black japanned surface.

Offered are two, very special, late 19th century, hand-blown medical ear syringes, one that retains its original wooden case.

First is a choice, five inch, wooden-cased hand-blown glass syringe that appears unused and is in excellent condition. The plunger glides smoothly and the syringe fits snugly inside the treen case.

Second is a 6 inch example that appears lightly used. The plunger is in fine, perfect condition; however,it seems to be stuck inside the syringe, and I have chosen not to try to move it.

An additional, third syringe included in this grouping is missing its tube, but is otherwise in good condition.