HospitalMuseum Online Archives

Update: Wax Anatomical Hearts no longer at Paxton Gate, San Francisco!

2011-01-27T16:24:00.008-05:00

My wax anatomical heart models are no longer available to view and, of course, purchase at San Francisco's incomparable purveyor of natural curiosities, Paxton Gate. If you want to see more about my various projects, please hop over to my other blog, FinderMaker and then check out my FinderMaker Facebook page! Wax anatomical heart models may now be purchased for $300.00 each by contacting me directly.

Inspired by Louise Bourgeois

2010-07-26T13:19:00.007-04:00

Getting ready to move is really stressful; I've done it alot over the past several years and I can't say it gets any easier over time. Occasionally I'm pleasantly surprised while I'm sorting through stuff and packing; finding this stack of screenprints I did in 2002 was one of those pleasant surprises. I just posted this on my other blog, FinderMaker, but figured since it features surgical instruments, and was created during the heyday of my National Museum of Hospital and Pharmaceutical History, I might just go ahead and post it on this blog as well.

I really like Louise Bourgeois' artwork, and find her large-scale installations (the "Cells") to be especially compelling. Her passing on May 31st at the age of 98 was a great loss to the art world, but my what a wonderful and inspiring body of work she created during her lifetime! 12 years ago or thereabouts I came across an image of this watercolor she had done depicting various clippers she found around her home and studio:

I was immediately inspired to try my own version using images of surgical instruments taken from a turn-of-the-century surgical supply catalog. I did several hand-drawn and colored versions before I had access to screenprinting equipment; I was excited to finally do a run of screenprints based on one of my favorite layouts during a screenprinting course at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. These are 3-color prints: 2 shades of red, and black, printed on a cream colored acid-free paper.

I always just called them my "Tribute to Louise Bourgeois" --not a very original title, and certainly not a worthy tribute to such a grand artist, but these images occupied my mind and time considerably for a period, and I'm glad to have been given the opportunity to revisit and share them. Thank you, Louise Bourgeois!!!

BBC Series: Victorian Pharmacy

2010-07-16T08:25:00.003-04:00

I've lost track of how many times my pulse has quickened at the mention of a new BBC series devoted to some aspect of the history of medicine. Then comes the crushing disappointment when I remember that the British programs aren't available for viewing in the US. The latest trigger for my TV excitement/disappointment cycle: Victorian Pharmacy. I do so badly wish that Americans were interested enough in history to merit the production of a mini series based on the history of Pharmacy!

Trephine and Bone Wax

2009-05-05T11:03:00.009-04:00

Occasionally a surgeon will find it necessary to get into a patients head; I mean actually get all up in there with instruments and such. The procedure used to cut away the skull to access the brain is called trephination. Some 7000 years ago, in neolithic times, the skull may have been cut into with a sharp flint or obsidian blade... there are many examples of skulls that have been discovered that bear signs of the procedure having been successful, as evidenced by new bone growth forming around the cut area. The procedure has endured throughout the ages, whether for medical purposes (relief of excess pressure on the brain due to injury) or supernatural ones (it is believed that the earlier instances of trephination may have been undertaken with the aim of releasing demons trapped in the skull). Eventually, metal cutting instruments replaced stone, and the use of a circular, serrated bit became standard for drilling through the skull. The images above present a nickle plated steel trephine in the museum's collection dating from around 1900. It was hand operated; a flap of the patients scalp would be pulled away to expose the skull, and the spike in the center of the bit was applied to allow the sharp steel teeth to get a start into the skull. After the drilling was established by way of twisting the instrument round and round, the spike was retracted by loosening the thumbscrew on the shaft so that it would not puncture the dura surrounding the brain, or the brain itself. The cutting teeth, while effective at cutting bone, were incapable of inflicting much damage on the dural membrane that protects the brain. Our trephine was produced by the renouned Philadelphia firm of silversmith-turned-instrument maker George P. Pilling. The third image shows a trephine as advertised in a 1912 surgical supply catalog.

Most of us only see bones in their dried up, dead state; it is easy to forget that in life they are full of blood and marrow, and that cutting into them can be very messy business, indeed. In order to staunch bleeding from cut bones it is sometimes necessary to apply bone wax to the cut surface. Bone wax is typically a sterilized mixture of beeswax and a softening agent that stops bleeding from bones by plugging the cavities from which blood flows. Sir Victor Horsley, regarded by many as one of the fathers of British neurosurgery, is credited with the introduction of the most widely used sterile form of bone wax in 1892. The application of bone wax must be judicious, as bone surfaces treated with the material will not grow back together, and its use does carry the risk of infection from bacteria becoming trapped in the plugged bone, or of inflammation caused by the introduction of the foreign material. Below is an image of a box of bone wax packets in the museum's collection produced by Ethicon around 1998, and an image of Horsley's bone wax as advertised in the surgical supply catalog mentioned earlier.

There are some modern-day proponents of trephination who assert that the removal of a disk of bone in the skull may act as a "pressure relief" allowing more blood to flow to the brain thus affecting all manner of positive changes in mood and perception. More information may be gleaned by accessing the website of the International Trepanation Advocacy Group.

Trephine. George P. Pilling, Philadelphia. Circa 1900. Nickel plated steel. HM4109.5. Copyrighted images.

Bone Wax. Ethicon. 1998. Cardboard box containing 12 sealed bone wax packets. HM4209.5. Copyrighted image.

Selections from HospitalMuseum Exhibit "Uncaged: Psychiatric Medicine and the Demise of the State Hospital"

2009-05-01T12:12:00.015-04:00

Straitjacket by Humane Restraint from the 1930's used to restrain violent patients. The straitjacket is on a slowly rotating form that allows museum visitors to view it from all angles.

As recently as the 1950's, sights and sounds in even the best mental hospital or psychiatric ward could be harrowing: violent patients kept restrained by straps or straitjackets, seriously disturbed patients yelling out in mental torment, others still huddled in frozen, terrified silence.

By the mid 1950's, however, these wards began to experience a remarkable transformation brought about by the introduction of new drugs that helped to ease disturbed minds. The first of these, Chlorpromazine hydrochloride, which was marketed in the US as Thorazine, is sometimes referred to as "the drug that cleared out the state hospitals" for its dramatic beneficial effects on patients afflicted with debilitating schizophrenia and the manic episodes associated with bipolar disorder. First synthesized in 1950 by french chemist Paul Charpentier, Chlorpromazine underwent clinical testing two years later at a Paris hospital; the results were so promising that trials were initiated in the US soon thereafter, and by 1954 the US drug company Smith Kline and French was distributing the drug to psychiatric institutions throught America.

The second drug, Reserpine, is a chemical that was isolated from the root of Rauwolfia serpentina, a plant that already had a long history of medicinal use in India. The drug has a powerful sedating effect and causes favorable brain chemistry alterations in psychotic patients. It was first released in 1954 but, despite its value, fell out of favor for the treatment of psychosis due to the number of side effects it tended to produce.

The third drug, Meprobamate, was first distributed in 1955 under the name Milltown, and quickly rose to fame as the best selling sedative drug in US history. It was widely used across all segments of society, from patients in psych wards to harried suburban mothers as a miraculous "cure" for the stress and anxiety caused by life in the modern age.

Alas, while none of these three drugs had the ability to fully cure sick minds, each played a critical role in calming violence and relieving anxiety, thus enabling patients to benefit more completely from psychotherapy, often to the extent that they could emerge from the state institution ready to rejoin family and resume productive jobs. By the 1960's, these and other newer psychiatric medications had played such a favorable role in the lives of patients that state-run mental hospitals across America
began to empty and close down.

Today, many such institutions, boarded up and moldering, succumb to vandalization and the elements, or are razed for redevelopment. While it is dangerous and generally illegal to gain access to abandoned asylums, there are many so-called "urban exploration" groups that find the old structures irresistible; by accessing and photographing the sites they preserve what little is left of an important part of medical history. The website Opacity is full of beautiful photos taken in and around abandoned hospitals and mental institutions; it also shows historic photos of many of the sites and gives excellent historical information when possible.

Below are three screenprint posters I produced for the exhibit depicting labels for the three psychiatric medicines discussed above. Portfolios of the three screenprinted label posters plus an informational text poster were available for sale in the museum gift shop.

And here are a few installation views from the museum's Chicago incarnation, as photographed by Saverio Truglia:

Straitjacket. Humane Restraint Co. Circa 1930's. Canvas, Leather, Brass and Steel. HM3909.5. Copyrighted images.

Tranquilizers For Sick Minds. Paul Baxendale. 2002. Editioned Portfolio of 4 screenprints, ea 13" x 17.5". HM4009.5. Copyrighted Images.

Stereoscopic Anatomy: The Human Body in Three Dimensions.

2009-04-22T12:16:00.006-04:00

Several years ago the museum acquired an excellent boxed set of stereocards from a series entitled "Edinburgh University Stereoscopic Anatomy". This set, printed by the Imperial Publishing Company of New York in 1910, consists of 50 stereocard images of the Pelvis and Thorax regions of the body, and is part of a master set of 5 volumes covering each area of the human body. The images are rather shocking; each having been photographed directly from a dissected human body using a special stereoscopic camera.

The cards proved so popular with HospitalMuseum visitors that the staff conservator soon became concerned for the safety of the set: while visitors were instructed to handle the cards with white cotton gloves that were provided, they still suffered the occasional mishap, and the exposure to light was also feared to have an adverse effect on the photos. We soon thereafter conceived of a solution to the problem and means by which visitors could take home a piece of the museum by using a computer to convert several of the images into red and blue anaglyphs that, when viewed with traditional "3D" glasses, reproduced the dimensional effect of the original stereocards. They were sold in the museum's gift shop as a set of six offset printed cards tucked into a specially designed offset printed cardstock envelope along with a pair of 3D glasses.

Front of the 3D souvenir pack.

Back of the 3D souvenir pack.

Tragically, as the hospitalmuseum was in the process of relocating from Chicago to Manhattan, the case holding the entire stock of the 3D sets was accidentally dropped into a mud puddle by a careless preparator, damaging all but 3 or 4 sets beyond repair. I've decided it might be interesting to post the images here... if anyone has a set of 3D glasses lying around, have a look... im not sure whether the images will "pop" on the computer screen as they do in real life, though.

*UPDATE 10/31/2010* This morning I received a lovely note from a fellow in the London area who, prior to renovating his attic, was forced to clear it of many years of interesting accumulations, among them a complete first edition set of Edinburgh University Stereoscopic Anatomy cards. The really neat thing about his discovery is that it included the optical viewer that was originally supplied with the set. HospitalMuseum visitors have become accustomed to viewing our little collection of images through a Victorian-era stereopticon, which certainly works fine but isn't original to the set; I'm very fond of the sleek, industrial aesthetic of the original optical viewer, and Im sure that focusing knob aids greatly in putting the images in sharp focus! Thanks so much for sharing, Steven! By the way, the whole set is for sale... if owning a big chunk of anatomical history interests you please send me a note and I will forward it to the owner!
*images below are reprinted here with permission of the owner; artifacts pictured below are not in the HospitalMuseum collection.

Edinburgh University Stereoscopic Anatomy. Imperial Publishing Company, New York. 1910. 50 card stereocard set. HM3709.4. Copyrighted Image.

The Human Interior, Official NMHPH Souvenir. Paul Baxendale. 2002. Offset printed cards and 3D glasses. HM3809.4. Copyrighted Images.

Ebony Handled Amputation Saw and Knife

2009-04-22T10:26:00.002-04:00

Amputation is a procedure that I hope to never experience, regardless of advancements in surgical technique. These fine old instruments date to around the mid-1800's. They are immediately identifiable as "Pre-Listerian" (before Lister's germ theory of disease became widely accepted and antiseptic surgical procedures adopted after 1880 or so) by the handle material: they are carved of dense (but not dense enough to thwart germs) ebony wood.

The elaborately scrolled handle of the bow frame amputation saw is a style commonly seen on English amputation saws, although this example bears no makers mark by which to confirm its exact origin. The knife, while the blade shows some tarnish and light pitting, is still sharp as the dickens and deadly too, although the death this instrument might have dealt would stem not from the blade, but from within the numerous nooks and crannies created by the diamond grip pattern carved into the handle which would harbor innumerable colonies of nasty organisms. Later instruments were crafted entirely of easily heated and disinfected metal, and streamlined of any excess surface texture or ornamentation that might harbor bacteria.

The knife is probably of German manufacture, as indicated by the name of the firm "Thuerriegl" stamped into the base of the blade. Oh... in case you were wondering why that saw handle was designed to look so fancy, it actually serves a purpose: check out the mean grip the good doctor can get on that handle-- just the thing for a quick and dirty amputation!

Bow-Frame Amputation Saw. Maker Unknown. Circa 1850. Nickle Plated Metal and Ebony. HM3509.4

Amputation Knife. Thuerriegl. Circa 1850. Polished Steel and Ebony. HM3609.4

Kid Stuff: Playmobil and Medical Themed Playsets!

2009-04-20T15:53:00.003-04:00

The hospitalmuseum loves to introduce young people to hospital and medical history, so we make an effort to add relevant kid-friendly items to the collection whenever possible. The Britains toy hospital figures mentioned in an earlier post were designed and marketed to children, but adults love them too. We feel the same way about the medical line put out by the German toy manufacturer Playmobil: made for kids, but detailed and elaborate enough that even adults find them very interesting. Playmobil has been making their distinctive line of toy figures and playsets since 1974, and has released several medically themed sets since then. The website Collectobil is a treasure trove of information on and photographs of all of the different Playmobil sets:

Hospital Team from 1980-84

The earliest ambulance set from 1977-85

Field Hospital from 1988-94
(above images courtesy Collectobil)

The hospitalmuseum proudly displays the following sets:

The Playmobil ambulance set produced between 1985 and 2000.

Playmobil operating room produced between 1985 and 1997. The surgeons look as though they have nobody to operate on... the patient is being prepped in the other room! (Or perhaps I packed the operating table into a separate crate... oops, dont tell the registrar!)

Doctor with Incubator.

And the best set of all... the only Playmobil hospital ever released! I believe it was released in 2007. I must admit that I haven't actually put the whole thing together yet, as it is very complicated; imagine the most difficult piece of ikea furniture you have ever assembled, then multiply that times ten! It will make a lovely display when it is assembled, though, and I have noticed that Playmobil sells separate lighting kits to add on; I shall have to add lighting when I get it all together!

Before either the Britains or Playmobil hospital sets were around, a child interested in incorporating a medical theme into his or her imaginative playtime might have reached for the Fuzzy Felt Hospital set. Produced in the 1960's by Allan Industries of Buckinghamshire England, the Fuzzy Felt Hospital was one of many themed Fuzzy Felt playsets consisting of a specially flocked playmat onto which brightly colored felt shapes could be arranged to represent all manner of exciting scenarios. The Fuzzy Felt Hospital was packaged with an instructive sheet that offered suggested layouts for such scenarios as "The Doctor's Visit, " "The X-Ray Picture," or "Teatime".

Finally, the hospitalmuseum librarian enjoys accessioning medically themed childrens books when they become available or are donated, here are a few from the collection:

From Let's Find Out About the Hospital

Let's Find Out About the Hospital. Eleanor Kay, R.N. Franklin Watts Inc., 1971. Printed Media. HM2609.4

A Visit to the Hospital. Lester L. Coleman M.D. Wonder Books, 1958. Printed Media. HM2709.4

The Human Body. Nutmeg Press Books. 1971. Printed Media. HM2809.4

Your Body: Bones and Muscles. Sean Morrison and Dr. Ira Freeman. Random House. Circa 1970's. HM2909.4

Playmobil Ambulence Set 3456. Playmobil. 1987. Plastics. HM3009.4. Copyrighted Image.

Playmobil Doctor with Incubator 4225. Playmobil. 2007. Plastics. HM3409.4

Playmobil Operating Room Set 3459. Playmobil. 1990. Plastics. HM3109.4. Copyrighted Image.

Playmobil Hospital 4404. Playmobil. 2007. Plastics. HM3209.4. Copyrighted Image.

Fuzzy Felt Hospital. Allan Industries. 1965. Felt, Flocked Cardboard, Paper. HM3309.4

The Damien Hirst Collection at the NMHPH

2009-04-17T11:16:00.003-04:00

Within the first few years of the inception of the National Museum of Hospital and Pharmaceutical History, our curatorial staff became aware of distinct trend in the art world: suddenly, the art world had become medicated, or, more precisely, the world of medicine had become a wildly popular topic among artists. British artist Damien Hirst stands today among the most recognizable and successful artists to explore themes of anatomy, pharmacy and mortality, and the NMHPH is proud to have a few small artifacts through which to relate the genesis and legacy of Mr. Hirsts oeuvre.

Inspired partly by his 1992 installation at New York's Cohen gallery in which he re-created the interior of a British pharmacy within the gallery, Hirst and 3 partners teamed up in 1998 to open an innovative venture combining art, food, and medicine in the legendary Pharmacy Restaurant and Bar. Hirst designed and curated every aspect of the pseudo-scientific, pharmacy-themed interior of the space, from ampoule salt and pepper shakers and pill shaped ashtrays, to walls lined with Hirst's popular medicine cabinet sculptures, or covered entirely in metallic wallpaper he designed and printed based on the pill identification pages in the Physicians Desk Reference.

Guests dined on exquisitely prepared and presented gourmet fare, and were served cocktails with names like "Cough Syrup" or "Voltarol Retarding Agent" by pleasant servers decked out in surgically inspired garb designed by Prada. Until its closure in 2003, Pharmacy Restaurant and Bar successfully delighted patrons with a uniquely surreal dining and social experience within what many consider the epitome of Damien Hirst's creative vision.

On Monday, October 18th, 2004, Sotheby's Auction House offered the public an unparalleled opportunity to acquire works by Damien Hirst when it auctioned off nearly every item within the defunct Pharmacy restaurant. Although the NMHPH was not able to send a representative to bid on any of the items, we were able to acquire one of the extensive and beautifully illustrated auction catalogs (complete with a novelty pill-themed sticker set) and a complete panel of the metallic PDR inspired wallpaper that had been auctioned off in whole, unopened rolls.

Framed Wallpaper Panel (18" x 21.5") above. Detail of Wallpaper Panel below.

Sotheby's Pharmacy Restaurant and Bar Auction Catalog, 2004 above. Wallpaper auction listing below.

A 20 foot tall painted bronze anatomical model titled "Hymn" took center stage at Damien Hirst's 2000 exhibition Ant Noises at London's Saatchi Gallery. The statue, which sold for 1 million pounds, was one of three produced; it had been inspired by Hirst's son's 14" plastic toy anatomical model, produced by British toy company Humbrol, who quickly took note of the statue's keen resemblance to their Young Scientist anatomy toy. In fact, the statue was a direct copy of the toy; Hirst took it to a bronze foundry and had them size up the dimensions exactly and fabricate the toy as a 20 foot tall statue. Hirst was promptly sued for copyright infringement by Humbrol and the toy model's original designer, Norman Emms. All parties involved settled out of court; Hirst agreed to donate an undisclosed sum to two childrens charities. The toy model is no longer in production, but the hospitalmuseum has secured two sets for use in a future exhibit on the life and work of Damien Hirst.

The actual toy model is pictured above. Hirst's statue "Hymn" as it appeared in the Gallery show below: (photos courtesy Saatchi Gallery)

In 2008, while working as an art handler at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, I had the great pleasure of making Mr. Hirst's acquaintance. We were working towards the inaugural opening of the museum's new Broad Contemporary Art building, and Mr. Hirst had been invited to assist with the layout of the galleries in which his work would be exhibited. I and a co-worker had been assigned to work with Mr. Hirst to lay out cardboard templates of his work and make a placement map to be used once the works had actually been uncrated and assembled (no easy feat!).

As the building was still under construction at the time, we were all required to wear safety helmets, and, at the commencement of our session with Mr. Hirst (who was very charming and personable) I asked if he might autograph my helmet. With a wry smile he replied "sure... go on, unzip!" We had a good laugh when I realized that the word "helmet" has a popular slang meaning in Britain, and afterwards he produced a sharpie and set about cheerfully decorating and signing my uh... protective headwear. On the front he sketched an image of his now quite famous 100 million dollar diamond encrusted platinum skull titled "For the Love of God" which he had just unveiled a year earlier. There is also a nice sketch of his famous shark preserved in formaldehyde, and the words "For Paul XXX Damien Hirst".

Front of Helmet alongside Hirst's Book For the Love of God: The Making of the Diamond Skull

Finally, the hospitalmuseum library preserves among its holdings (in addition to the publications already mentioned) a few other Hirst books, the most notable being a 1998 second printing of his very famous and technically complex I Want To Spend The Rest Of My Life Everywhere, With Everyone, One To One, Always, Forever, Now.. Also pictured is Damien Hirst: Pictures From The Saatchi Gallery
:

Framed Wallpaper from Pharmacy Restaurant and Bar. Damien Hirst. c. 1998. Ink and metallic ink on paper. HM1909.4. Copyrighted Image.

Auction Catalog: Damien Hirst's Pharmacy. Sotheby's. 2004. Printed Media. HM2009.4

Young Scientist Anatomy Kit. Humbrol. c. 1999. Mixed media. HM2109.4-a,b. Copyrighted Images.

Safety Helmet Decorated by Damien Hirst. Damien Hirst. 2008. Sharpie on plastic helmet. HM2209.4

For The Love Of God: The Making of the Diamond Skull. Damien Hirst. Other Criteria/White Cube, 2008. Printed Media. HM2509.4

I Want To Spend...
Damien Hirst. Booth-Clibborn Editions, 1998. Printed Media. HM2309.4

Damien Hirst: Pictures from the Saatchi Gallery.
Damien Hirst. Booth-Clibborn Editions, 2001. Printed Media. HM2409.4

A Formidable Foe... Still.

2009-03-31T17:49:00.001-04:00

Streptococcal bacterium can wreck all sorts of havoc on the human body, and your bad sore throat that, upon closer inspection, reveals the telltale white patches of "strep throat" is only the tip of the iceberg!

Although Staphylococcus gets a bad rap for its ability to rapidly mutate antibiotic-resistant strains and it's alarmingly abundant population in hospitals and invalid care facilities, Strep earns the dubious distinction of causing the dreaded Toxic Shock Syndrome, and the too horrible to be true (but is!) necrotizing fasciitis or "flesh eating" bacterial infections! Not bad enough? Perhaps meningitis, bacterial pneumonia, rheumatic fever, scarlet fever, impetigo, systemic blood infections and even tooth cavities will change your mind!

Yes, Streptococcus is a vexing foe, and its enduring presence in our lives is due in no small part to the wide diversity of illness-producing Strep species and strains, many of which have developed marked antibiotic resistance. Up until 1942, when the very first patient was treated for Streptococcal septicemia with penicillin (the first antibiotic), the common treatment for Strep infections was the administration of Strep serum, a remedy painstakingly manufactured from the blood of animals infected with the particular species of Strep that the serum is meant to target. The introduction of the concentrated, dead Strep cells into the human bloodstream causes an immune reaction which could, potentially, aid the patient's recovery. Still, a patient with pneumonia who was given a serum specific to the species of Strep that causes impetigo would be no better off than one who had received no treatment at all, not to mention the fact that serum preparations had but a fleeting shelf-life after they were bottled.

The Hospitalmuseum displays this small bottle of Antistreptococcus Serum as a means of relating the history of mankind's struggle against the legions of illness-causing bacteria with which we share our world. It was produced around 1908 by Schering Pharmaceutical in New York. An applied label reads: "The efficacy is guaranteed to remain undiminished until April 1st, 1910". It's original seal is unbroken; it contains the original serum, the efficacy of which is guaranteed to be now very much diminished.

Antistreptococcus Serum. Schering and Glatz. Circa 1908-1910. Glass bottle and original contents. HM1809.3. Copyrighted image.

Etherial Slumber: Anesthesiology and the Advancement of Surgical Technique

2009-03-27T16:37:00.002-04:00

It is no exaggeration to declare that the development of the use of ether as an anesthetic was the most important factor in the advancement of surgical technique. Ether was the first truly predictable and effective anesthetic; before it, surgeons depended on opiates, hard liquor, or a blow to the head to steel the patient to the excruciating pain of surgery. The surgeon's task under such circumstances was to complete the procedure as hastily as possible, and the tortured screams and writhing of the patient can not have done much to help the efficacy of the procedure. Imagine, then, the magnificent relief of both surgeons and patients as the first successful operation under ether was performed at Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital in October, 1846, after which the patient remarked that he "did not experience pain at any time, though I knew that the operation was proceeding." The results of that operation were published shortly thereafter in the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal. Now that patients could be subdued completely, surgeons were able to slow down and direct their attention towards the development of ever more refined surgical techniques. While the scope of the history of anesthesia is too broad for this post, allow me to direct you to an excellent online resource detailing the history of anesthesia and ether in particular, with plenty of nice images, here.

The National Museum of Hospital and Pharmaceutical History houses several artifacts from the history of anesthesiology, including the ether can and its accompanying carton pictured at the top of this post, dating from around 1910. The museum is also pleased to display a nice machine used for administering ether (referred to around here as the Ether Pump), also dating from the early 20th century:

When displayed within the hospitalmuseum, the Ether Pump is installed upon a special pedestal that is fitted with a pushbutton to activate the machine. Visitors are encouraged to press the button and watch as the motor hums to life and air bubbles up through the liquid in the ether bottle!

(photo courtesy Saverio Truglia)

The Ether Pump was most likely used in a doctors office or more modestly equipped operating room than would be found in a major metropolitan hospital. It served a dual purpose: the pump mechanism sent air into the bottle containing ether, which sits in a metal cup holding hot water (ether has a much lower boiling point than water; the hot water bath would cause the ether to vaporize more readily), forcing ether vapor out of the bottle, through the tube, and into the patient's airway. The pump also created suction in the bottle next to the ether bottle, to which a tube and wand (not pictured) were attached and used to suck up excess blood and fluids during surgery. Thus the budget-minded surgeon got two benefits by stocking the operating room with this handy little machine. It was sold through surgical supply houses such as Columbus Hospital Supply in Ohio; it is listed in their 1912 supply catalog:

The ether vapor forced out of the bottle and through the rubber tube made its way into the patient's airway via a hollow, hook shaped metal piece attached to the tube which literally hooked into the mouth of the reclining patient. The patient's mouth was kept open with a mouth gag to facilitate the hooking. The mouth gag below dates from around 1920 and has seen plenty of use, as evidenced by the flaking chrome and deep dents in the areas that contact the patients teeth.

The same hospital supply catalog that sold the ether pump also offered this somewhat fancier mouth gag, that connected directly to the pump hose and featured channels which directed the ether vapor into the patient's gagged mouth:

Another volatile fluid that found use in anesthesia is ethyl chloride. Although the liquid could be dispensed onto cloth that was held over the patient's mouth and nose to induce general anesthesia, its effects were both short-lived and unpredictable. It found more widespread use as a local anesthetic; when dispensed onto the skin from a sealed canister like the one below, the liquid created a rapid cooling and numbing of the area, making it useful for such minor procedures as removing splinters and warts. This canister of ethyl chloride was produced by Upjohn around 1910:

Please note that the National Museum of Hospital and Pharmaceutical History does not include among ANY of its holdings any actual or residual narcotic, botanical or chemical substances. All representations exist as either empty bottles, or, where necessary for aesthetic purposes, bottles containing chemically inert tablets, powders or liquids.

Ether Canister and Carton. Mallinckrodt Chemical Company. Circa 1910. HM1409.3. Copyrighted image

Ether Pump. J. Sklar Mfg. Co. Circa 1910. HM1509.3. Copyrighted image.

Mouth Gag. Manufacturer Unknown. 1920. Chrome plated steel. HM1609.3. Copyrighted image.

Ethyl Chloride Canister and Carton. Upjohn. 1910. HM1709.3. Copyrighted image

Order Form for Opium, Etc.

2009-03-05T10:15:00.001-05:00

This piece of ephemera is typically exhibited alongside the "Horrors of Opium Consumption" display mentioned in an earlier post.

On December 17th, 1914, faced with a nationwide scourge of cocaine and opiates abuse, Congress passes the Harrison Narcotics Act, requiring that any person endeavoring to "produce, import, manufacture, compound, deal in, dispense, sell, distribute, or give away" any form of cocaine or opiates register with his district Internal Revenue office, and to pay taxes on any narcotics transactions. A clause of the Act further stipulated that only physicians would be legally capable of prescribing the drugs, and were limited in the situations deemed acceptable for their prescription.

Several laws were passed on National and state levels after the passing of the Harrison Narcotics Act that further regulated the import and distribution of narcotic substances, eventually effecting a marked decrease in the number of individuals addicted to narcotics. The slip of paper above dates from 1917, five years after the passing of the Harrison Narcotics Act, and serves as an official document by which a liscensed physician could procure narcotics from a regulated source.

Here, Doctor W.E. Barron of Addison NY submits his order for 20, 1/4 grain hypodermic tablets of morphine sulphate, often supplied in these tiny glass vials by the likes of Parke Davis and Co. or Burroughs Wellcome:

The order form is quite elegant in it's design; note the lovely bunch of opium poppies that graces the upper left hand corner:

While the H.N.A. did much to loosen opium's grip on our nation, it certainly didn't eradicate the problem of addiction completely. A popular challenge for physicians was to conceive of programs through which addicts could be weaned of their habits: one such program was revealed by London physician G. Laughton Scott in his 1930 publication The Morphine Habit And Its Painless Treatment.

Order Form for Opium , Etc. 1917, accessioned NMHPH c.2005. Paper Ephemera. HM1209.3. Copyrighted image.

The Morphine Habit and Its Painless Treatment. G. Laughton Scott. 1930. London, H.K. Lewis and Co. Ltd. HM1309.3. Copyrighted image.

Britains, Ltd.

2009-03-04T16:40:00.001-05:00

In the early 1900's, Britain's Ltd. was established as a family business producing cast lead toy soldiers. A concise history of the company may be viewed here. In 1980 Britain's unveiled a new series of plastic toy figures and furnishings depicting hospital themes, several of which sets the hospitalmuseum has acquired and incorporated into a small hospital ward diorama. The diorama shows 3 of the different Britain's hospital sets. Another set depicting a hospital x-ray department was also produced by Britains, but has not yet been acquired by the hospitalmuseum on account of the steady demand for Britain's toys by collectors; the hospitalmuseum has yet to secure sufficient funds to acquire one of the x-ray department sets. Through the window in each patient bay is a view of the administration building of Houston's Jefferson Davis Hospital, which opened in 1937 and was demolished in 1999.

The hospital set packaging itself was designed to be configured into a makeshift hospital room environment, complete with a window featuring a sliding outdoor scene which could be positioned to portray day or nighttime.

Britains Hospital Ward. Paul Baxendale. 2000. Mixed Media. HM1109.3. Copyrighted images.

Wax Anatomical Models

2009-03-03T15:56:00.002-05:00

I am delighted by the growing swell of appreciation for wax anatomical models and the institutions that house them. The 17th and 18th centuries saw many great contributions to the science of anatomy. While skillfully executed drawings did much to spread knowledge of anatomy during that time, the anatomist's art truly "came to life" with the production of the first wax anatomical models in the early 1700's. Italy was a hub of anatomic activity during that time, and a handful of workshops took to the production of wax anatomical models, many of which may still be observed in Florence's Museo La Specola . Thanks to the talent and generosity of the bloggers at Curious Expeditions and Morbid Anatomy, anyone interested in the subject are only a click away from lovely photos, descriptions, and detailed histories of the production and display of wax anatomical models.

While the hospitalmuseum has never been in any position, financially, to acquire an authentic wax anatomical model, I have done exhaustive studies on the process, which culminated in the production of several competent representations of the early wax models. Below is an exhibit featuring one of my first heart models; it rotates slowly to reveal details on the front and back. It is nestled among items used in it's production:

1) Plaster mold from which the heart model is born. It is first bathed in warm water and liquid soap before layer upon layer of lightly pigmented wax is painstakingly brushed into the surface. 2) A mortar and pestle containing a blend of rare and exotic waxes melted in varying combinations and at different temperatures to create dramatic and lifelike effects. 3) Vials containing vegetable and mineral pigments to add color to the heart. 4) A bottle containing a a blend of plant resins in solution, brushed over the finished heart to lend a glistening depth and brilliance to the model.

I recently unpacked the equipment used in the production of the above model, and have begun to prepare a new batch of heart models based on the centuries-old ceroplastic art:

Masterpiece of the Mouliere's Art. Paul Baxendale. 2002. Mixed Media. HM909.3. Copyrighted image.

Ceroplastic Study: Cuore Umano. Paul Baxendale. 2009. Wax, Pigment, Natural Resins. HM1009.3-A. Copyrighted image.

Referring Back to "Cabinet for the Pernicious Narcotics"

2009-02-27T12:03:00.001-05:00

Eight years after I had assembled the "Cabinet for the Pernicious Narcotics" covered previously, a doctor friend, assisting with the clearing out of Chicago's (now mostly demolished) Cook County Hospital called to offer me a bag full of medicine bottles, ampoules and cartons he had cleared out of a locked narcotics cabinet in an operating room that hadnt been used since the 1980's. They were all quite expired, and he was careful to empty all of the containers of their original contents.

I wasn't too excited about accepting the donation, as the containers were all very much more recent than anything else in the museum, but I was soon happy that I hadn't turned down his very thoughtful and generous offer. I decided to keep the collection intact and build a case for it, the whole arrangement serving to represent a "contemporary" peek into what the narcotics cabinet has become since the days of our earlier "Cabinet for the Pernicious Narcotics" alongside which this new case is exhibited.

The medications are decidedly more modern in appearance, there being several slick new (circa 1980, which I suppose qualifies them as vintage at this point!) pre-measured disposible hypodermic units once containing Valium and a synthetic pain killer, while some of the old standbys, ie: morphine, codeine and phenobarbital, make an appearance. I grew to like the collection so much that I silkscreened several sets of my favorite 3 packages to sell in the museum's gift shop. I still have a few of these sets, and will perhaps offer them for sale at some point.

Please note that the National Museum of Hospital and Pharmaceutical History does not include among ANY of its holdings any actual or residual narcotic, botanical or chemical substances. All representations exist as either empty bottles, or, where necessary for aesthetic purposes, bottles containing chemically inert tablets, powders or liquids.

Contemporary Cabinet for the Pernicious Narcotics. Paul Baxendale. 2003. Mixed Media. HM709.2. Copyrighted image.

3 Silkscreened Substances. Paul Baxendale. 2003. 4 color screenprint on paper. HM809.2. Copyrighted image.

Physicians Afield!

2009-02-26T17:57:00.001-05:00

It is unthinkable today that a physician should make a "house call" but this was hardly the case 100 years ago. Back then it was far more common for the physician to pack a trusted arsenal of diagnostic tools and medicaments in a leather satchel and set out towards the house of the afflicted individual, who may have lived miles from town. The hospitalmuseum is pleased to have several examples from the travelling physician's arsenal within the collection. Above (details below) is a tiny apothecary, holding a fine, albeit dubious by todays standards, assortment of medicinal compounds carefully selected to serve most any need that may arise, circa 1900.

Should the circumstance upon arriving at the patient's abode require surgical intervention, the wise "physician afield" might have thought to pack along one of these:

An entire operating theater neatly wrapped up in it's own canvas case! This example probably dates from around 1915, though some of the instruments could be earlier, and a few instruments could have been added later, depending on how long the kit was actually in use.

Naturally, the good doctor would posses a suitable satchel to contain all of his tools during his sojourn, and this one would have filled the bill very well:

It is a leather "Emdee" doctors bag produced by Schell, probably in the 1920's, and kindly donated to the museum in 2003 by Mr. Park Chambers of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

The Traveling Physicians Arsenal. Paul Baxendale. 1996. Wood display case and antique pill satchel. HM509.2. Copyrighted image.

The Operating Theater Goes Afield. Paul Baxendale. 2000. Lighted wood display case and antique surgical satchel. HM609.2 Copyrighted image.

Doctor's Bag. Emdee by Schell. 1920. Leather, brass. HM909.2. Copyrighted image.

Blood Saves Lives

2009-02-26T14:56:00.001-05:00

"Blood Saves Lives" is a favorite among hospitalmuseum visitors. The image, painted by American artist Jes Schlaikjer was printed on heavy cardstock by the Red Cross in 1948. A beautiful site devoted to American Red Cross posters may be accessed here.

Blood Saves Lives. Jes Schlaikjer. 1948. Ink on Cardstock. HM409.2. Copyrighted image.

Hospital on the High Seas

2009-02-26T12:34:00.003-05:00

The above is a cased model I built of the U.S. Navy hospital ship, Haven. It is one of several elements which comprise a special exhibit within the museum pertaining to a most fascinating permutation of the hospital, the hospital ship!

The USS Red Rover is generally considered the first American hospital ship; Originally a confederate side-wheel steam ship used as an army barracks, the Red Rover was captured by the union army during the civil war in 1862, and converted to a facility tailor made to treat sick and wounded soldiers. The Navy has maintained a fleet of hospital ships ever since, always at the ready for dispatch to the coast of war-torn areas the world over.

Always painted bright white accented with prominent red crosses, hospital ships are deemed "off limits" to attack by the Geneva Convention, and provide a convenient and fully equipped sanctuary never too far from the front lines of battle. During times of peace, hospital ships are typically dispatched to provide relief in disaster stricken areas and on various other humanitarian missions.

The noble Haven touched the lives of countless soldiers and civilians during its life, which lasted from 1945 to 1967. The scope of the Haven's service is far to dense to delve into within this blog, so I do encourage anyone interested in hospital ships to visit an excellent and in depth website devoted to all things Haven. It is said that the Haven is now berthed in the Navy's reserve holding site at Suisun Bay, California, however, as the condition of the Suisun Bay fleet deteriorates, so does the concern for the environmental impact of the decaying ships on the area escalate, and ships are towed to Texas to be scrapped on a regular basis.

USS Haven Model. Paul Baxendale. 2006. Mixed Media. HM309.2. Copyrighted Image.

On the Subject of Opium...

2009-02-25T15:13:00.002-05:00

The National Museum of Hospital and Pharmaceutical History houses a full-time conservation laboratory dedicated to monitoring the condition of the museum's collection, and making repairs and adjustments to pieces as the inevitable wear or damage occurs. Since the previous post focused on one of the museum's early narcotics cabinets, it seemed appropriate to showcase an opium-related piece which has been partially disassembled and is currently undergoing conservation in the lab.

This small boxed exhibit titled "The Horrors of Opium Consumption" was created by Paul Baxendale in 1995 and, along with the "Cabinet for the Pernicious Narcotics" is one of the earliest display pieces created for the museum. The display includes an early glass apothecary jar containing crude opium in nugget form, an early bottle of alcohol based opium extract (tincture), a small bottle of paregoric (a liquid containing morphine and camphor, mainly used as an anti-diarrheal), a tiny glass jar of crude opium in tar form, poppy heads, a small two-volume leather bound copy of Thomas DeQuincy's "Confessions of an English Opium Eater" and an opium pipe.

There were a number of issues with "Horrors..." that necessitated the intervention of a staff conservator. Foremost was the display's infestation with small beetles which had presumeably been introduced via the dried poppy pods serving as the focal point of the piece. The beetles had emerged via tiny holes in a few of the pods, and had apparently expired after their life cycle, as only bits of frass and beetle exoskeleton were evident in the display upon its most recent inspection; there was no evidence of living beetles, and it has been decided that the infestation occurred several years ago while the piece was in storage.

Furthermore, Mr. Baxendale has learned that the "opium pipe" he originally displayed in the piece is, in fact, a tobacco pipe of Chinese origin, and typically used in China for tobacco consumption. True opium pipes, we have since learned, are both scarce and expensive, and the museum is struggling to come up with viable options for the representation of a true opium pipe.

Lastly, a new tool related to the opium trade has been accessioned by the museum: a small bone and steel scraper used to inflict a series of shallow cuts in the ripe poppy head from which the fresh opium "latex" flows before becoming dark and sticky upon exposure to air. This piece will be added to the display, and representations of the "cuts" with the opium exudate following will be added to a few of the opium poppy heads in the display. Additionally, the books will be secured archivally and supported in a manner that will be the least likely to cause damage from continuous display.

Any readers wishing to convey information pertaining to the acquisition of a proper opium pipe are encouraged to contact the museum!

Please note that the National Museum of Hospital and Pharmaceutical History does not include among ANY of its holdings any actual or residual narcotic, botanical or chemical substances. All representations exist as either empty bottles, or, where necessary for aesthetic purposes, bottles containing chemically inert tablets powders or liquids.

The Horrors of Opium Consumption. Paul Baxendale. 1995. Mixed Media. HM209.2. Copyrighted Image.

Cabinet for the Pernicious Narcotics

2009-02-25T12:52:00.001-05:00

The above represents a collection of narcotic preparations as found in a rural medical practice in operation until the middle 1960's. Physicians have been obliged to keep such substances under lock and key since the earliest (and generous) use of opiates in so-called "patent remedies" sparked a debilitating craving for the potent poppy-derived narcotic across a broad spectrum of early American society. Addiction was no longer solely the specter of those who sought comfort in the smoky warrens of the opium den, but a seemingly unstoppable curse which dogged so many, from colicky infants addicted by a fretful mother's hapless administration of "Mrs. Winslows Soothing Syrup" to respectable gentleman seeking occasional refuge from the stress of life in the industrial age without being labeled "drunkards". After the government implemented laws imposing more stringent control of opium-containing medicaments, addicts were more likely than ever to plunder the stock of the local physician, hoping to find a quick "fix". The National Museum of Hospital and Pharmaceutical History's narcotics cabinet holds a variety of bottles that once contained powerful medicines of common abuse including (from left to right):

Chloral Hydrate, Desoxyn (methamphetamine), Dolophine (Methadone), Codeine Phosphate (an opium derivative), Morphine Sulphate (an opium derivative), Adrenaline Ampoules, and a box of opium suppositories.

The lower shelf contains samples of another class of commonly abused sedatives, the barbiturates. The first barbiturate was marketed by Bayer in 1904 as Veronal, so named for the Italian city of Verona, which the drug's inventors Emil Fischer and Joseph von Mering considered "the most restful place on earth." An abundance of variations on the original chemical followed; representations of which may be studied below (from left to right):

Phenobarbital Sodium ampoules, Amytal Sodium capsules and ampoules, Seconal Sodium capsules, Nembutal capsules, a vial of Veronal tablets from 1904, Phenobarbital effervescent tablets, Phenobarbital tablets bulk bottle.

Please note that the National Museum of Hospital and Pharmaceutical History does not include among ANY of its holdings any actual or residual narcotic or chemical substances. All representations exist as either empty bottles, or, where necessary for aesthetic purposes, bottles containing chemically inert tablets powders or liquids.

Cabinet for the Pernicious Narcotics. Paul Baxendale. 1995. Mixed Media. HM109.2. Copyrighted Image.

An Overview...

2009-02-11T23:57:00.001-05:00

The National Museum of Hospital and Pharmaceutical History was last installed in its entirety in 2003 at 3735 w. Diversey Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. I was very fortunate to have received some local attention due to the article entitled "Bedside Manor" that ran in Chicago's weekly newspaper, The Reader. I was doubly fortunate to have had the honor of having photographer Saverio Truglia spend an afternoon at the hospitalmuseum taking photos to be included in the article. Saverio is a tremendously talented photographer, and the installation shots he took of the museum serve as the sole documentation of the hospitalmuseum as it appeared at that time. Following are some views of the hospitalmuseum as seen through the lens of Saverio:

Installation of an early hospital convalescent room.

Early anesthesia machine with view of Our Amazing Body pavilion in the background.

Our Amazing Body pavilion installation, with some of the medical Cabinet of Wonder style installation visible on the left wall.

Detail image of Our Amazing Body pavilion installation featuring different anatomical models.

An installation view in the main gallery featuring the Recent Accessions case on the lower right, some of the psychiatric exhibit in the middle, and a lit Field Surgeons Kit display on the left.

The prominent PHARMACY sign consists of metal neon channel letters from an old Chicago pharmacy that was being demolished. Uncaged, the hospitalmuseum's exhibit on the decline of psychiatric institutionalization is in the foreground.

A peek in the Recent Accessions case, where the museum highlights some of the newest items to be added to the collection, reveals many items donated by the family of a prominent Chicago physician.

I Thank You for accompanying me on this very brief (and quite incomplete) tour of some of the hospitalmuseum's installations, as photographed by the most excellent Saverio Truglia. In the coming weeks I shall commence with the photography of individual items in the collection. I do hope you will join me as I post the results, and also hope that if readers are especially interested in seeing artifacts from a particular arena of the medical sciences (surgical tools, syringes, pill related, medical themed toys...) they will not hesitate to contact me with their special request.

Until next time...

Determining How Best To Commence....

2009-01-02T11:31:00.001-05:00

I Thank You for your patience, kind reader. I am presently planning how best to begin sharing the (rather overwhelmingly large) collection, and now realize that nearly everything will, at some point, need to be retrieved from deep storage, uncrated, and photographed if this is to be done correctly. Perhaps I should begin by doing things somewhat incorrectly? Just typing those words made me wince... Alas, I'm morally obliged to opt for the former, and pray that your patience holds...