American Civil War Surgical Antiques

Research - Identification

Civil War Era Surgical Sets, Surgeon's Swords & Images

Civil War Surgeon Education & Medical Books

Established 1995

 

       

 

A Resource for Civil War Surgical Antiques & Medical Textbooks

As seen in: Military Images, American's Civil War Magazine, Warman's Civil War Collectibles, Antique Week, Northeast Antiques, and various Antiques & Collecting publications

Civil War Surgical Sets

 

Extensive information on identification and valuation of Civil War surgical sets.  What's real, what's yours worth!

Civil War Topics: medical textbooks, collectors, surgery sets, surgical instrument makers, surgeon images, surgeon swords, medical education, amputation kits, surgeons, medical collecting, Army Hospital Dept., Army Medical Department, Medical books, Medical college lecture cards, identification of all the above...

It's all inter-related on this site: medical schools sold lecture cards, lecturers who were authors wrote books used at the medical schools, the surgeons who attended the medical colleges fought in the Civil War, surgeons joined the Army, and the Army bought surgical sets for the surgeon's use. 

On display: pre-1866 surgical sets, Civil War surgical antiques, civilian amputation and surgical sets by some of the most famous American makers of the mid 1800's.  The site contains over 661 pages about 1820 to 1870 surgical instruments and Civil War medical topics using 5,882 photos to help identify and differentiate Civil War era sets from earlier and later examples . 

Evaluation methods are provided for pre-1870 (pre-sterilization)surgical sets and kits as well as extensive topics and advice on antique medical collecting for beginning or advanced collectors.  On display are Civil War medical swords and surgeon CDV images as well as U. S. Army Hospital and Medical Department information.

 

Evaluations & Consultations

for your Civil War surgical set

The Private Collections of

Dr. Michael Echols

Wanted to Buy List

Buying for this collection

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 Civil War Surgery Set Displays  |  Pre & Post Civil War Surgery Set Displays  |  Topic Indexes  

Surgery Set Evaluations  | Medical Lecture Cards | Reference Books  |  Civil War Medical Books

 Surgeon Images & Swords  

Articles on Collecting, Identification, Photos of Surgical Sets, & Civil War Surgeons

The heyday of American-made surgical instruments was from the 1830's to the 1870's and centered in the New York and Philadelphia areas.  Prior to the 1830's and after 1900, most surgical instruments were made in England or Europe and imported to this country.   This site centers on American-made Civil War era surgical sets made during or just prior to the Civil War era.  There is information for identification of pre-1870, (pre-sterilization) American surgical sets and there is no charge for consultations, which are offered as a way to learn from antiques we do not have in this collection.

Extensive photos of Civil War era surgical sets in this collection

1820 - 1880 American Surgical Set Collection Photos

Civil War Era Surgical Sets

1860 to 1865

 

Pre- & Post- Civil War Surgical Sets

1820 to 1888

 

Photos and information on

American-maker surgery sets

 

 

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Kolbe' Civil War U.S. Army Hosp. Dept. surgical set

Topical Indexes for articles on pre-1870 Surgical Antiques & the Civil War

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Civil War medical books, surgical manuals, and medical education:

Civil War era medical education and knowledge is explored through a collection of surgical manuals and medical textbooks which were in the Surgeon General's Office Library during the Civil War

Wanted: pre-1865 Medical & Surgical Textbooks and Medical school lecture tickets or cards

 

Books: 1 | 1a | 2 | 2a | 3 | 3a | 4 | 4a | 5 | 5a | ...

Lecture Tickets:  1  |  2  |  3  |  4  |  5  | 6 |

How much did the Civil War surgeons know and when did they know it?

Pre-1865 Medical Textbooks

 

Medical College Lecture Cards or Tickets

Collectors and historians will find methods for dating and identifying various instruments found in pre-1870 surgical sets.  There are articles and exhibits to show variations in style and details of surgical instruments and surgical sets in the 1800's, especially those instruments used during the Civil War.

Instrument  identification via Civil War era maker catalogs:

 

 

Surgical instrument sets were relatively simple during the early part of the 1800's because the 'surgeons' procedures were basic and only involved 'heroic' attempts to save a life.  Surgery as we consider it today did not exist.  Instruments were more simple and less numerous in the sets.  As we approach the Civil War era, surgical procedures become more sophisticated and the medical textbooks reflect this progress.

1870 is when sterilization began and cased sets changed drastically afterwards to allow for sterilization of the various parts of the instruments.  After 1890, the handles of the instruments were no longer made of ivory, wood, or other porous materials that could not stand up to chemical and heat treatments, thus the trend to use all metal instruments after that point in America.   

This collection and website, by Dr. Michael Echols, centers on the Civil War era prior to sterilization and is organized to help Civil War medical collectors, both new and experienced.  Advice and information is offered in a non-threatening and friendly manner in hopes of furthering the distribution of our knowledge.  We have nothing for sale and do not charge for evaluation information.

Civil War Surgeon Images, Medical Swords, Surgeons and the American Civil War:

 

M.S. Staff

Swords

CDV's of Surgeons

Detailed information on Civil War surgeons, CDV's, medical swords, and sets of instruments used during the Civil War are presented in articles and photos.  Evaluations are offered as a way for us to learn from antiques which we do not have in this collection.  E-mail contact is welcome.

 

American Civil War Surgical Antiques

Research notes and a private collection

 Civilian & Civil War Military Sets

 Main page  |  Search  |  Site map

Wanted to Buy List  |  Contact Dr. Echols

 Civil War Surgery Set Displays  |  Pre & Post Civil War Surgery Set Displays  |  Topic Indexes  

Surgery Set Evaluations  | Medical Lecture Cards | Reference Books  |  Civil War Medical Books  

 Surgeon Images & Swords  

 

Last updated: Monday, July 14, 2008

All original text and photography appearing on this site is the intellectual property of Michael Echols unless otherwise noted and is protected under United States and international copyright laws. The intellectual property attributed to Michael Echols and his personal notes may not be copied, transmitted, published, reproduced, stored, manipulated, projected or altered in any way without the written (e-mail) permission of Michael Echols, which is generally gladly given.  Website content copyrighted 1995 - 2008, all rights reserved.  Links to this site are welcomed and encouraged.  Copy-righted material from other sources shown on this site may be posted and noted to avoid dead links to the information.  This is a research-oriented site, not a commercial endeavor.