On Making a Medicine Chest

[Mission]

Something I had not thought of before was to look through the images I have scanned from Elizabeth Bennion's excellent book Antique Medical Instruments (Sotheby Parke Bernet, University of California Press, 1979) and John Kirkup's similarly wonderful The Evolution of Surgical Instruments; An Illustrated History from Ancient Time to the Twentieth Century (historyofscience.com, Novato, CA, 2006).

I found a photo of the instruments from a pocket kit as well as one with the box included for you that I believe agree with your images:

Figure 84, Pocketcase Instruments, Savigny, 1798 (Kirkup, p. 68)

Ch. 3 Figure 15., Contents of a pocket case of instruments, dated 1731. (Royal College of Surgeons of England) (Bennion, p. 64)

"The seventeenth-century Prujean Collection, now in the Museum of London, includes a case with two trays of intricately-shaped compartments lined with marbled paper (pls. 4-5). Pocket cases opening flat in two halves were made in wood at the same period.

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There is a brass instrument case in the Victoria and Albert Museum, though shagreen seems to have been the most favoured material for these small cases throughout the seventeenth centuries, the boxes being about 12 to 15 cm long with rounded ends. Another particularly interesting example, apparently from 1672, is that shown with the instruments in pl. 13 ([Ch 3.] p. 62). This has a drawer in the base, presumably to hold the sharper instruments more safely. A similar one is in the possession of the Wellcome Collection…From the mid-eighteenth

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century and for most of the nineteenth century, instrument cases of leather, sharkskin, and brass-bound mahogany were standard, fitted inside with velvet-covered slots, larger ones having several trays and side-carrying handles…

Silver cases of the etui-type for lancets and, occasionally, other instruments, date from the early eighteenth century. They are of tapering design with the lid at the thicker end, often with intricate hinges and spring clasp; the interiors fitted with a slotted silver grille to hold the lancets… by 1780-90 they had become more delicate and attracted, very often, the prettiest and most intricate bright-cut designs.” (Bennion, p. 276-8)

[Mission]

Emplasters were gummy medicines that were smoothed on to bandages. Kind of like pre-medicated bandages.

“…you are to get [your chests], with your self and Crew, on Board; and see them placed in a dry Place, and as convenient to be come at as possible. And let your Surgery Chest be fast lashed that it may not over set in bad Weather by the rowling of the Ship.

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And being on Board, see that your dressing box is furnished. [Note: This is the plaster box.]

That is a box with 6 or 8 Partitions in it, and a Place for Plaisters ready spread. In the Partitions you put your Pots and Glasses of Balsams and Oyles for present use.

Now this Box as well as your pocket Instruments must be carried every Morning to the Mast between Decks, where our Mortar is usually rung, that such as have any Sore or Ailment may hear in any part of the Ship, and come thither to be drest. [Note: This indicates that there was a pocket kit of some kind as well as a plasters box.] But such as by reason of illness cannot come thither you must go to them where Lye.” (Moyle, p. 45-6)

[PoD]

Emplasters were gummy medicines that were smoothed on to bandages. Kind of like pre-medicated bandages.

"…you are to get [your chests], with your self and Crew, on Board; and see them placed in a dry Place, and as convenient to be come at as possible. And let your Surgery Chest be fast lashed that it may not over set in bad Weather by the rowling of the Ship.

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And being on Board, see that your dressing box is furnished. [Note: This is the plaster box.]

That is a box with 6 or 8 Partitions in it, and a Place for Plaisters ready spread. In the Partitions you put your Pots and Glasses of Balsams and Oyles for present use.

Now this Box as well as your pocket Instruments must be carried every Morning to the Mast between Decks, where our Mortar is usually rung, that such as have any Sore or Ailment may hear in any part of the Ship, and come thither to be drest. [Note: This indicates that there was a pocket kit of some kind as well as a plasters box.] But such as by reason of illness cannot come thither you must go to them where Lye." (Moyle, p. 45-6)

Ahhh you know I read that once and completely forgot about the mention of the pots. Ok thats my next job to find a picture of one of them ha ha.

Do you have any measurements for the "Plaisters ready spread" from any of your sources? This should give me an indication of what size box i am looking for.

[PoD]

ok I have just found this Broadside in the British museum with a picture of a dressing case

Its the large oval one.

Date

1701

Schools /Styles

Dutch

Description

Title page to a tract entitled "De Ongerse Pallasch, de Boere Caraffa, en Hoerensmeerdoos", no. 18 in the series entitled "Esopus in Europa"; in the centre, an etching showing a table against which rest a pitchfork and flail, and on which is a peasant's flask, a sabre dripping blood, and a toilet set including two perfume bottles, a dressing case and a set of dishes containing face-patches of various shapes; hanging behind is a portrait of a young woman; on the right, a mounted drummer and trumpeter and in beyond cavalry cross a pontoon bridge and gallop towards a burning town. 1701

Looks more like a jewellery box to me though

Edited October 6, 2010 by PoD

[Mission]

I'm not at my computer, but I'd think the dims on the plaster chest would depend more on the instruments stored in them than the plasters. The widest bandage I've read about it 4". But that wouldn't hold very many instruments. OTOH, Yonge refers to taking his with him when he was captured, so I'm guessing it was small enough to be portable.

Understand too that the sizes of these things would probably have varied. Woodall's medicine chest calls out a great many more medicines than most others who had listed the ingredients required in a medicine chest. This implies that his surgeons required a larger chest. Since everything was hand-built at this time, I would also expect that chest and cabinet sizes would vary from production lot to production lot, from manufacturer to manufacturer and material would vary based on what was easiest, cheapest and/or most readily available that would fit the need.

What are you doing? Making a full medical kit? Do you have your instruments? I am planning to design my kit around my instruments if I ever get to it...my Bone Saw is 25" long and the instrument case has to be able to accommodate it at the very least.

[PoD]

I'm not at my computer, but I'd think the dims on the plaster chest would depend more on the instruments stored in them than the plasters. The widest bandage I've read about it 4". But that wouldn't hold very many instruments. OTOH, Yonge refers to taking his with him when he was captured, so I'm guessing it was small enough to be portable.

Understand too that the sizes of these things would probably have varied. Woodall's medicine chest calls out a great many more medicines than most others who had listed the ingredients required in a medicine chest. This implies that his surgeons required a larger chest. Since everything was hand-built at this time, I would also expect that chest and cabinet sizes would vary from production lot to production lot, from manufacturer to manufacturer and material would vary based on what was easiest, cheapest and/or most readily available that would fit the need.

What are you doing? Making a full medical kit? Do you have your instruments? I am planning to design my kit around my instruments if I ever get to it...my Bone Saw is 25" long and the instrument case has to be able to accommodate it at the very least.

The group I am part of do the Barber-surgeon display for the public so I am basically looking at improving their kit. I am just making the Apothacary chest shown in the broadsheets and i'd like to do the plaster and surgical cases at some point too. I am not sure what instruments they have yet. I know they have a collection of larger tools such as a Bone saw, amputation knives and a clyster syringe but I dont think they have any of the smaller pocket kit type stuff.

Other than that I just find the medical instruments really interesting and like to research them.

[PoD]

And being on Board, see that your dressing box is furnished. [Note: This is the plaster box.]

I wonder if this is implying that the box is for dressings or if it is a box called a dressing box. From what I can tell a Dressing Box was a box used by travellers to store all their personal grooming items. I wonder if the Dressing Box on a ship was actually one of these but containing basic medical kit rather than grooming items. Theres an example of a later 19th century Dressing box here:

Other than that I got to thinking. The only other type of medical box I am finding other than the large chest and the small instrument pocket case is the small folding door chests. Now these have space for all the stuff mentioned in a plaster box and are easily portable due to the handle on the top. These were definately around on ships in the GAOP in some form or another. Do you think maybe that these could be what they are calling a plaster box or do you thing its something else entirely?

This is what i originally imagined the plaster box to look like. This is a ships one from 1845 though:

[Mission]

Ah, very cool! I look forward to seeing pics of your group's final results. If researching the instruments really interests you, check out those two books I cited above - you can probably get them through your local library. (They're wayyy too expensive to buy - I looked - hard.) They contain a lot of really good photos and info.

Theres an example of a later 19th century Dressing box here:

Notice how the top appears to drop into the outside box to cover the contents in the bottom of the box. This is what I was talking about before. I wouldn't think a plaster box would have a drawer - it would be more like an instrument box which often has a similar drop-in top section. Thanks so much for posting that - I hadn't seen ANY plaster boxes before this and had been previously speculating it was made of plaster. (!! )

This is what i originally imagined the plaster box to look like. This is a ships one from 1845 though:

Other than that I got to thinking. The only other type of medical box I am finding other than the large chest and the small instrument pocket case is the small folding door chests. Now these have space for all the stuff mentioned in a plaster box and are easily portable due to the handle on the top. These were definately around on ships in the GAOP in some form or another. Do you think maybe that these could be what they are calling a plaster box or do you thing its something else entirely?

Actually, I suspect this style is mostly for land-based medicine chests. If the ship were rocking and rolling on the waves or taking broadsides in a battle, a chest like that would be a huge PITA to work with because the doors would swing unless fastened...and then you wouldn't have easy access to the stuff inside. Several sea surgery books from period go into great detail about preparing the operating area for battle and they don't include fastening up your chest.

My concept (and I haven't completely proven this, so it's partly opinion) is that the plaster box and medicine chests were similarly done with drop in sections like the first photo you have posted. I didn't really have a clear thought on the pocket kit until you started this conversation, so that was actually a big help to me.

The medicine chest would be more like the Clowes chest that you posted a photo of with a top honey-combed section for square-bottomed bottles - some large ones for frequently used medicines and many smaller ones for less frequently used medicines. It would have a lockable lid.

Then there would be two or three drawers that went into the chest below the level of the honeycombs, possibly running the full length of the chest (like the machinist chest in my first post in this thread) to enable the housing of long instruments. (I base this on Woodall's description of some of the stuff that he put into the chests.) One of those 'drawer rows' may have consisted of several smaller drawers like the Clowes chest instead of running the full length. If so, my guess would be the top-most one.

The front would have had some sort of fastening & lockable cover as chests purchased by surgeons for the navy were sealed so that they could not be tampered with. There may also have been a secret drawer in the back for medicines that the sailors would have been likely to steal - I have seen more than one reference to such a thing. If so, the bottom drawer would have been shallower than the other drawers to accommodate the secret drawer.

I should note that my model for a medicine chest is based largely on the Woodall description of the chest and (more specifically) what it contained. No doubt some surgeons had kits like the one you show above simply because that's what they had. Although I think that sort of chest would have been more expensive than the simple one I am describing.

This is what i originally imagined the plaster box to look like. This is a ships one from 1845 though:

I would suggest that is a home-made kit. Home medicine kits were somewhat popular around period. They would have been small, simple and compact like that one. I believe the Bennion book gives a lot more detail on these.

Keep in mind that on long sea trips (many lasting weeks, if not months) the only medicine shipboard would be what the surgeon brought. He could never be sure what he would find in whatever ports the ship stopped, which is why I believe Woodall recommended so many medicines be stocked from the outset. This also informs us as to the necessary size of the chest. One such as you have above would probably have been too small for a long voyage.

[PoD]

I have just come across John Kirkup's The Evolution of Surgical Instruments; An Illustrated History from Ancient Time to the Twentieth Century on google books (or a section of it at any case).

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=eg_SpXBf4eIC&lpg=PR17&dq=The%20Evolution%20of%20Surgical%20Instruments%3B%20An%20Illustrated%20History%20from%20Ancient%20Time%20to%20the%20Twentieth%20Century%20pdf&pg=PA42#v=onepage&q&f=true

I've also just found this picture of a surgical instruments case from the 18th century:

[PoD]

another view of the science museum pocket kit with some of the instruments in it:

[PoD]

a 1653 Instrument chest:

I assume the lower layer held the larger instruments

[Will Fiddle]

Thanks for the posting of material from Moyle. Much work to be done just on this series of quotes, and a new source to be dug up.

Will

Edited October 20, 2010 by Will Fiddle

[Mission]

Moyle is probably the resource I'd be most likely to recommend to someone who wanted to read a single GAoP period sea-surgeon book. Yeah, yeah, Woodall wrote the first one and it was for the merchant ship surgeons (who were the most likely to be taken by pirates), but Moyle writes in a way that's easy to read and comprehend as well as being direct and to the point. Plus his book was published during period where Woodall's came out 30-50 years earlier. Woodall's book is also a challenge to read (well, until you get the hang of it...and even then...) and sometimes tends to wander a bit. Still, Woodall contains rich descriptions and lots of info on medicines. (Although, from my experience, the medicines don't generally excite the crowds nearly as much as descriptions of the operations and surgical tools.)

[Edit: While I'm talking books, here is a post where I give my short list of books that I think would be most helpful to period surgeon impressions. It also contains links to most of the topics on sea surgery here on the Pub.]

[PoD]

is there any reference material anywhere was to the contents of the bottles in an Apothecary chest? What medicines and such?

[PoD]

This 1823 book titled "Transactions of the Associated Apothecaries and Surgeon- apothecaries of England and Wales" mentions the contents of a Dressing Box. Not sure if this is what would have been in an early 18th century one but its a good starting point.

[Mission]

is there any reference material anywhere was to the contents of the bottles in an Apothecary chest? What medicines and such?

What you really need is a copy of Woodall's book the surgion's mate. There is actually more information in there which answers your question than I care to type in and re-print. We're talking 50+ pages of material including long lists of tools, medicines, their uses and their locations in the chest (sort of) and so forth. It will require some reading and deciphering effort, but it you want a period surgeon's chest, that's the best way I know of to get the info you're asking for.

I urge you to go to the source. I explain how you can get a pdf copy with a little effort in this post. Get the 1639 version of the book as it also has material on barbering and other miscellaneous equipment in the added chapters.

Good luck!

[PoD]

is there any reference material anywhere was to the contents of the bottles in an Apothecary chest? What medicines and such?

What you really need is a copy of Woodall's book the surgion's mate. There is actually more information in there which answers your question than I care to type in and re-print. We're talking 50+ pages of material including long lists of tools, medicines, their uses and their locations in the chest (sort of) and so forth. It will require some reading and deciphering effort, but it you want a period surgeon's chest, that's the best way I know of to get the info you're asking for.

I urge you to go to the source. I explain how you can get a pdf copy with a little effort in this post. Get the 1639 version of the book as it also has material on barbering and other miscellaneous equipment in the added chapters.

Good luck!

Ahhh yeah EEBO is the holy grail. I've been trying to get into that for years now. The university I went to doesnt have access to it. You have to have a university account to access it from the universities that do have it over here and they dont give you one of them unless you are a student there.

[Silver]

there is a very active web site called chirurgeons-the staff of the serpent/medical history. it is a yahoo group, i find them to be very helpful in expanding the knowledge of medical history. i also have been working on a medical addition to my program and have gotten alot of help from them, many of them are on your side of the pond. give them a hail.

[PoD]

Wooden barber surgeon's case, large rectangular box with a hinged lid, contains twenty shaving accessories, French, 1715-1830. Full view, open case with some contents arranged outside.

You'd think they could narrow it down a bit on when it was made. Over a hundred years in that time period. Bit rubbish for a museum not to be able to get it more accurate.

[Mission]

I am putting together a presentation on pirate surgeons for next month and I stumbled across this bit from Rory McCreadie's pamphlet The Barber Surgeon’s Mate of the 16^th and 17^th Century. (With a nod of thanks to Ed Fox for getting me a copy of that.) I have emphasized a point regarding the surgeon's chest.

“In 1629 King Charles I ordered "all the English ships calling at English ports to have a surgeon on board. The king ordered the Barber-Surgeon's Company to get 97 trained Surgeons to fill ships which had not surgeons, for when the law came into force”. A trained Surgeon is a Surgeon plus kit. The Company could not get the numbers. The Apothecaries made up the numbers kitted out all 97 of the Surgeons and Apothecaries with 3 chests: a small wounds chest (first aid or plaster box); a large Surgeon’s chest and an Apothecary chest. The Surgeons were given a crash course in apothecary work, and the Apothecaries one in surgery. The cost of the chests alone would have been very high. Once on board the ship, if the first aid chest was not adequate, the Surgeon/Apothecary would go for the chest he had more knowledge of. These young men were probably the first doctors as we know them today, and were called Apothecaries/Surgeons. Before this time only the best surgeons would study both, for their own use. At one time, the Apothecaries and Surgeons planned to buy a shared barge (1664), but the Apothecaries could not raise the money for their share at the time. The Surgeons acquired their own.” (McCreadie, p. 23)

What I find interesting in that is that this decree separates the Surgeon's chest and the Apothecary chest - further, it denotes a LARGE surgeon's chest. This hearkens back to William Clowe's chest (seen on the first post on the first page of this thread) which would be considered quite large compared with what I was thinking would be needed for a surgeon's chest of instruments while also being too small for the medicines IMO. I had thought Clowe's chest was supposed to be the apothecary chest. This could explain how Clowe's style of medicine chest could have existed; an Apothecary Chest containing the 200+ medicines - the amount John Woodall lists in his book the surgions mate - would stand alongsied the large 'instrument' medicine chest. (This means if I wanted to re-create the proper setup, I need two large, potentially heavy boxes...)

[silas thatcher]

jsut going out on a limb a little here.... i am going to speculate that the surgeon had only one size box not matter the length of the voyage...different boxes for short voyages, long voyages and extra long voyages ?? gonna guess not...i am thinking that if additional medical supplies were needed, there would have been an extra box/crate or the like packed full and the surgeon simply restocked his box from those supplies...

maybe a barrel was used too... so i am leaning towards a box the size that two man servants could easily handle, yet may be a trifle heavy for one man.... i am including instuments and medicines in the box with my weight figures...

as a second thought, chest for instuments, a chest for medicines, and maybe a third for additional supplies... lighter weight, more stowable... could have even all fit together in some fashion...

[Mission]

Everything I've seen talks about chests. I've never seen a reference to a barrel.

As for standardization, the Navy might have standardized medicine chests, but the naval surgeons were also given money in advance to buy their own stuff. So I can't say for sure on that one. John Woodall standardized medicine chests for the East India Company, but as I mentioned before he had over 200 ingredients - probably so that a surgeon could cure anything he came up against. For the most part, merchant-ship surgeons were in charge of procuring their own medicines and instruments. So I doubt there was a great deal of standardization there. Pirates took merchant ships, not naval ships. Keep in mind that this was the 17th/18th century when everything was hand-built, including the surgical instruments. Standardization of parts had to wait for the 19th century. I have also seen advisements to surgeons to have enough medicine on hand for the entire voyage, which again suggests to me that the amount would vary based on the length of the trip and the number of men on board.

Somewhere I thought I saw a reference to a medicine chest being loaded using ropes, but I can't find it now. That at least suggests to me that they were somewhat heavy. (Based on my own wooden box that is NOT a surgeon's chest - just a box for protecting the instruments during shipment - I'd say it would be something that would require two men to handle. And given that a lot of medicines were liquid, I would suspect the medicine chest would be just as, if not more, heavy than the instrument chest.

[Mission]

Just when I thought I'd seen all the info there was on period medicine chests, I decided to pick through some of my old, unread books saved in PDF and I noticed that John Moyle's Abstractum Chirurgæ Marinæ looked... different... than his Chirurgius Marinus. Oh, I know, the titles are different, but a lot of these authors would release a version of their book and then add to it and alter the name and keep building up their library by essentially publishing the same work in new forms. I should have known better. (Moyle is my favorite period sea surgeon author and it's precisely because he doesn't usually pull the same sort of shenanigans other authors like Woodall did.)

Anyhow, he has this to say about the surgeon's chest in this ancient work I am just now discovering. I am hoping some of you knowledgeable sorts (Captain Jim) can clarify some points in this thing such as what the heck a drawing box and hanging drawer are.

"The Twelfth Direction.

To fit the Chirurgery Chest.

Now for the greater safety of your Medicines, let me advise you, not to have drawing Boxes at the Ends of the bottom of your Chest, as some use to have, and carry their Seeds and other things in them; for when you shall need any thing that is in them, you must take out several Medicines that stand in the bottom of the Chest before them; which Pots or Glasses will be in danger of breaking, especially if there goes a great Sea, and the Ship rouls.

Some Chyrurgeons (especially in small Merchant-men [who would also be the ones most likely to be captured by pirates incidentally]) carry their Drugs in the bottom of their Chests, together with some Medicines, which is altogether inconvenient (if you can avoid it) for there must be a preposterous displacing of things before you can come at the Medicines you would have, therefore if I am worthy to advise you, let not your Drugs be in your Chyrurgery Chest; but have Partitions all over the bottom, and let those partitions be bigger than them at top; and in them place your greatest Jars and Glasses

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(and especially your Oyles and Corrosive Medicaments, that if they should spill or break, they cannot fall on others to dammage them). Besides in one of those partitions, you may place four of such small square Glasses, as your Oyles of Sulphur or Vitriol are put in, if you wrapt them with Tow, and place them decently one upon another. Let each kind of Medicines be placed in glasses by themselves; as the Syrups in one Glass, the Electuaries in another; and so of the Oyles, and Unguents, or Waters; with every Medicament its Lybel upon it. And keep account in your Book whereabout each Medicine stands, that you may either go or send for the Medicine you want and find it (as it were) in the dark.

Having thus fitted the bottom of your Chest, there is usually a hanging drawer under the middle of the top partitions, where some Chyrurgions use to keep their Instruments; Let that be for your Emplasters. And then fall in had with the top of your Chest. You are to place round the top the remainder of your bigger Jars and Glasses, because they are the bigger partitions: And as in the bottom, so here, let each kind of Medicines be in their peculiar Glasses and writ upon.

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And in the partitions of your top Drawers you may place some four, in others more, of your small square Glasses and Jars; as four ounces, two ounces, and ounces; and every thing written upon, and account taken in your book, you will know readily where to find each Medicine in the bottom of any partition, although its Lybel should be lost, and let your box of small Weights and Scales be fixed to the inside of the Lid of your Chest, as also your Electuary and Unguent Spatula's, and Tyle to mix Boluses on; with other Necessaries." (Moyle, Abstractum Chirurgæ Marinæ, p. 15-7)

[PoD]

very interesting. I wonder if by drawers he means sliding drawers or removable trays that lift out?

It would be interesting to get hold of an actual sea surgeons journal and see if he had written an account of where each Medicine stands. Are there any still surviving?

[Mission]

Yes, there are surgeon's journals in your National Archives. (That link is to much later period journals which I actually wasn't aware they had put on-line until now.) They also have a bunch that aren't scanned in; I don't know if there are any from our period or not. The requirement to keep journals in the navy started in 1703, although it seems sort of fuzzy as to whether this was followed implicitly or not. it also seems to me that a bunch of material was destroyed in a fire at Surgeon's Hall at some point after that. (I'm going off something I read a long time ago, so don't quote me on that.)

Moyle might mean lift out sections, although the word drawer has a definite meaning, doesn't it? On-Line Etymology says, "drawer - agent noun from draw (v.). Attested from 1570s in sense of a box that can be "drawn" out of a cabinet." Terminology was somewhat loose then, but that seems to be a bit extreme. Besides, we have examples of surgeon's chests from both before and after period and they both have drawers.