A pair of wooden handled obstetrical forceps with a traction handle in a cloth pouch; the forceps have a left (a) and a right (b) side and fasten together via a bolt in the center; the right handle has a swinging screw on it which fits through a slot on the left one; there is a wingnut (c) which fa…
A pair of wooden handled obstetrical forceps with a traction handle in a cloth pouch; the forceps have a left (a) and a right (b) side and fasten together via a bolt in the center; the right handle has a swinging screw on it which fits through a slot on the left one; there is a wingnut (c) which fastens onto the screw working as an adjustable lock; the traction handle (d) attaches to a screw on the right handle and is a curved piece of metal with a wooden handle; the pouch is made of beige cloth with faded blue stripes.
Number Of Parts
5
Part Names
a - left handle - Size: Length 32.5 cm x Width 7.0 cm x Depth 3.8 cm
b - right handle - Size: Length 32.5 cm x Width 7.0 cm x Depth 3.8 cm
c - wingnut - Size: Length 3.8 cm x Width 3.1 cm x Depth 0.9 cm
d - traction handle - Size: Length 17.4 cm x Width 10.7 cm x Depth 2.3 cm
e - pouch - Size: Length 40.5 cm x Width 15.0 cm x Depth 0.5 cm
Provenance
Came from the Queen's Archives' Anthony A. Travill Fonds.
Stevens & Son was established around 1835 and wooden-handled forceps would not have been used after around 1900.
Dr. A. A.Travill was an anatomy professor at Queen's, and served as department head from 1968-1978; he had an interest in medical history, and published several books and articles on the subject.