'Birks Aseptic 1 minute' thermometer (b) with a case (a) and chain cylindrical brass tube closed at one end with fluted spiral groves running from the bottom to the top; a chain is fastened to a ring in the bottom and attached at the other end to a safety pin; (b) glass tube with a tapered end and …
'Birks Aseptic 1 minute' thermometer (b) with a case (a) and chain cylindrical brass tube closed at one end with fluted spiral groves running from the bottom to the top; a chain is fastened to a ring in the bottom and attached at the other end to a safety pin; (b) glass tube with a tapered end and a brass cap on the other; the brass cap screws into (a); the tapered end contains mercury; on the inside there is a yellow line which helps make the mercury line visible; there is a scale from 94 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit.
Number Of Parts
2
Part Names
a - case
b - thermometer
Provenance
Owned by Dr. and Mrs. Kidd of Ottawa, Ontario; Dr. Kidd graduated from Queen's University Faculty of Medicine Class of 1929; Mrs. Kidd graduated from the Ottawa Civic Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1925. Dr. John Franklin Kidd (1865-1932).
Item looks similar to one seen in a catalogue with that date.
Material
metal: silver; yellow
glass: clear, white
glaze: black, yellow, orange
mercury: silver
Inscriptions
(a) "Prima" engraved or pressed into the metal of the pin; (b) printed in gold "Birks Aseptic 1 minute" in orange; "364"; on the reverse side is a scale 94-110 degrees Fahrenheit printed on in black; an orange arrow is where a person's normal temperature would be (98.3 degrees Fahrenheit).
Permanent Location
Storage Room 0010
0010-F4-4
Length
a - 26.2 cm
b - 10.4 cm
Diameter
a - 0.9 cm
b - 0.9 cm
Unit Of Measure
centimeters
Condition Remarks
The glass of the thermometer is a little cloudy, the brass of the case and the thermometer is beginning to darken.
Copy Type
Original
Reference Types
Book
Reference Comments
"Illustrations of Surgical Instruments of Superior Quality," 21st ed., Kny-Scheerer Co., Milwaukee, ca. 1915, p. 1074 (similar to item A/-3442-48).
Research Facts
This is a thermometer which screws into the case and can be pinned onto clothing to be carried around; possibly used by nurses.
Exhibit History
On exhibit "When Medicine Met Science," Museum of Health Care, April 29, 2003 - 25 Jan 2017
To display in Museum: Potions, Pills and Prescriptions; May 1, 2000