Presented here is a rare U. S. Army Hospital Department-marked and issued Civil War medical operating kit in its wooden field case. Kit retains thirty pieces of assorted surgical instruments and miscellaneous accompanying medical items, all fit into a key-locked mahogany case; no key. The instrument ensemble resides in a double-compartment, hinged wooded case lined with smooth red velvet, now faded to a light burgundy color with scattered spots of compression and thinning.

Surgical instruments number twenty-six individual pieces and fit into pre-set slots in the case bottom, in the top lid and in the inner tray compartment. Eight of the instruments are stamped with various makers, e.g. “Mawson & Thompson/London; Millikin/Southwark St; _rnde_/London; Pfingst Stainless.” A number of these original instruments are not original to the case. Likely to have replaced lost or broken pieces.

Featured are handsome, checkered-ivory handled cutting instruments including one metacarpal saw, one Hey’s double-edged saw, two surgical scalpels, and seven tenaculum. In addition, one trephine-conical crown with ebony handle, one tourniquet, one curved forceps, one bullet forceps, one bone forceps, one dissection forceps, one angle forceps, seven staves or sounders, one small brush, one roll of thread, one roll of silver wire, and five small curved suture needles. Also, there is a small piece of sea sponge and a small piece of wax.

The very good condition, military-style mahogany case is double-hinged and measures 13” long x 6” wide x 4” high. Four corners of the top lid are edged with brass corner protectors. Exterior case base needs to be tightened slightly. Inlaid at the center of the case lid exterior is a scalloped brass plate (3½” x 1½”) with fine script engraving that reads “U. S. A. / Hosptl Dept.”

These marked wooden medical field cases were issued by the army’s hospital department to army staff surgeons in field units and are not private purchased as so many of the medical kits were. These cases are seldom encountered. This Civil War, army-issued surgical field case is one of the nicest specimens to surface in the medical collecting field in quite a while.

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