Masticator is made of two formed pieces of silver metal hinged by a single screw near the blades; object has a scissor like structure with two straight handles with a wood grip attached to the outside of each handle by two small gold coloured nails, one at the top and one at the bottom; the proper …
Masticator is made of two formed pieces of silver metal hinged by a single screw near the blades; object has a scissor like structure with two straight handles with a wood grip attached to the outside of each handle by two small gold coloured nails, one at the top and one at the bottom; the proper left handle hinges three quarters of the way up the handle; both handles curve outward at the top and lead to seven interlocking blades with three on one side and four on the other; the group of three blades are thicker than the group of four and are cerrated on the inside; the group of four blades have two thin straight blades on either side of the middle two which bend and touch at the top; the screw that holds the two pieces of metal together has a modified heart shaped handle; the object is held closed by a rectangular latch that is attached to the bottom of the proper left handle and sits in a groove on the outside of the proper right handle
Number Of Parts
1
Provenance
Donated by Dr. Martin T. Jeremais to the University of Alberta and its library; collection was then donated to the museum via Dr. Merrill Distad.
Dates
1860
1870
circa 1860-1870
Date Remarks
Date based on research and the Weiss' Illustrated Catalogue of Surgical Instruments
Material
metal: silver, yellow
wood: brown
Inscriptions
Stamped into the inside of the proper left handle: "D R G 381804 // 16306"
Permanent Location
Storage Room 0010
0010-B
Dimension Notes
Length 18.1 cm x Width 4.0 cm x Depth 3.1 cm
Condition Remarks
Object exhibits corrosion on the top side on the handles near the screw which holds the two pieces together and on all blades; the wood on the handle is deteriorating and has begun to separate into layers; a piece of the wood on the proper left handle has broken off below the bottom nail; the wood has discoloured on both handles
Copy Type
Original
Reference Types
Internet
JPG
Reference Comments
"Weiss' Illustrated Catalogue of Surgical Instruments," 1863, Plate III (wood on handle is similar to model #10) (see attached photocopy); CD #3
Research Facts
Masticators were used to 'pre chew' food for people who had poor dentition or had lost some or all of their teeth; the use of the porous material as a grip on the handles suggest a pre-Lister fabrication date as his germ theory did not appear until 1860.