SURGICAL SET BY W.F. DURROCH, LONDON, c. 1860 – 1867
While this set has no definitive Civil War connection, it is well known that many Confederate physicians purchased their surgical sets from makers in the U.K. – England and Scotland in particular. This set is included as an example of what a Confederate surgeon may have carried with him in the later years of the Civil War.
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). The set 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 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 set may be just post-War based solely upon the address on the tourniquet, as Evans & Co. (later Evans & Wormall) were at the 31 Stamford Street location starting in 1867.
This particular set is a wonderful example of a complete and untouched set for both amputation and neurosurgical procedures.