HE WAS A PRESTIGIOUS INSTRUMENT MAKER IN LONDON, ENGLAND
This civilian-style, English-made surgical set is fitted into a velvet-lined mahogany case with brass-bound corners. The brass cartouche on the lid identifies the owner as “J. W. Howard”. It includes instruments used in amputation and neurosurgical procedures. Unfortunately, it is not marked with the maker’s label and address, which would help to narrow down the time frame of its manufacture. However, the instruments fit perfectly into their allotted slots, and almost all are marked “Durroch”, including a nice set of Gross’s bullet forceps. The four scalpels are stamped with “Young, Edinr” which is the marking of Archibald Young of Edinburgh. He was known to be active from as early as 1834 to 1887. The crown trephine fits the date of up until the 1860 time frame; in that year, Dr. G.A.D. Galt of Virginia devised a conical trephine, with a truncated vs. round bit, with the peripheral teeth arranged in an spiral direction, “with the purpose of avoiding injury to the membranes or substance of the brain.” (British Medical Journal, June 16, 1860, page 458). This tourniquet may or may not be original to the set, it is just post-War based solely upon the address on it, as Evans & Co. (later Evans & Wormall) were at the 31 Stamford Street location starting in 1867.
WILLIAM F. DURROCH
William F. Durroch was in business from 1798 – 1870 in the Southwark area of London. His advertisements abound in the many medical times and gazettes of the period, as a manufacturer of “Surgical Instruments, Trusses and Appliances of Every Description…”. He was conveniently located “nearly opposite Guy’s Hospital” and he proudly declared that his firm was “by appointment to the Royal Navy” and also had been a “Prize Winner in 1862” (for what he does not say).
An advertisement (shown below) in the 1858 Medical Directory of Ireland notes that he manufactures surgical instruments for the Royal Navy and Greenwich Hospital:
A similar advertisement appears in the British Medical Journal Advertiser of March 12, 1864:
In the January 9, 1869 edition of the “Medical Times and Gazette Advertiser” he advertises as a manufacturer of “Surgical Instruments, Trusses and Appliances of Every Description…” Located “nearly opposite Guy’s Hospital,” he proudly declares that his firm had been a “Prize Winner in 1862” (for what he does not say):
