Tourniquets:
variations and methods
for dating
by Dr. Michael Echols
Tourniquets are used to stop blood flow in arteries and veins.
They are mechanical instruments for ligating a limb or artery to stop bleeding prior to
amputation or surgery. Most amputation sets will have at least one and
sometimes more than one tourniquets, depending the maker. In my
experience, French amputation sets are more likely to have multiple tourniquets,
whereas American or English sets usually only have one.
 During the hundred years era of this collection (1800 to 1900)
tourniquets were made of cast brass, with brass or steel buckles and in the very late part of the century,
German silver or plated with nickel. The earliest straps were generally a colorless plain
white cloth strap about 1 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter. During and after
the Civil War, it was not uncommon to see red stripe or multi-colored straps, but
toward the end of the century, the predominate color was again white. Noting the
shapes of the turning ' T ' and the type of buckle are good indications of the
age. Earlier tourniquets have cast buckles and brass prongs, while later
models used a steel buckle frame and steel prongs.
Not all tourniquets will have the maker name imprinted on the
brass frame. Most were marked, but apparently many makers used a similar
style supplied by some unknown (to me anyway) supplier of the time.
The same is true with wood cases in a given city, one or two suppliers made the
wood cases for multiple makers.
Not all tourniquets are the same size.
They tend to be larger prior to 1865 and small afterwards. The largest
tend to be found in the earliest sets, c. 1830's and before. French
origin tourniquets are much more ornate than the ones used by American makers.
I mention this because there were many French instruments imported into
the states and colonies. Due to the variations in the size, the fixed size
of the slot in the case will determine the 'fit' and may help determine the
originality of a given tourniquet.
During this time frame, many makers imported various parts of
their sets, especially something as universal as a tourniquet. That said,
as you will see below, the tourniquets can be most unique to each maker and a
resource for dating the set and knowing if the item is a replacement or original
to the set.
As you can imagine, since the space in a wood case was pretty
large to accommodate a tourniquet, it would be easy to mix up items between sets
(intentionally or unintentionally). Substitution of tourniquets is a major
problem with sets obtained from dealers or collectors who want to 'fill' out a
set with missing items. If the tourniquet is exactly the same time frame
as the set (as determined by various methods), then there is no problem.
But, if something was placed which just happen to 'fit', then we have a
substitution which is incorrect and a detriment to the value and history of the
set. Since the majority of the sets on this site were NOT obtained from
dealer or from only known sources who would not substitute, I think the majority
of the set have tourniquets which are consistent with the maker and date
when the set was made. Field sources are generally more reliable than
'dealer' sources due to the possibility of a set having a replacement
substituted in the set by someone at a show or to increase the value of a sale.
What follows is meant to just be a sampling of various kinds of
tourniquets found in this American maker collection. Examine each set in
the display section to compare tourniquets from various eras. A link is
provided to the various maker sets.
See similar articles on
dating tourniquets,
saws,
bone forceps,
forceps, or
amputation knives.
Click on any image to enlarge it
| c.1830
Tiemann set, marked G.Tiemann/ N-YORK
Note: cast brass buckle
with articulated three cast prongs, and solid white cloth strap |
 |
| c. 1829
Peter
Rose, unmarked
Note: strip in cloth, non-brass buckle, hinged
prongs |
 |
| c.
1830's Weigand
& Snowden, unmarked, note articulated two
prongs, solid white strap |
 
|
| c.
1840 J. Gemrig, unmarked
Note: non-brass buckle, solid
white cloth, straight, rectangular, unmarked T. |
 
 |
| c. 1850
M.
Wocher, unmarked
Note the pressure pad, frame buckle and
prongs, stripped cloth belt, curved T. |
|
| c.
1850's Gemrig, marked, note cast brass frame buckle |
 |
| c.
1861-65 Tiemann, marked
Note the pressure pad |
 
|
| c.
1867 Gemrig,
marked , note rounded 'T' |
 
|
| c.
1846 Goulding,
U. S. Army Hospital Dept. marked |
|
| c.
1855 Kuemerle,
note the ornate 'T', thick pad, very unusual cast prongs into the
side of the frame.
This same tourniquet is shown in
Edmonson's book, page 56, Fig. 73,74. |
 
 
|
| c.
1865 H.
Hernstein Civil War issue, U. S. Army
Hosp. Dept. note use of wire buckle and shape of the 'T'.
Marked. |
 |
| c. 1864-5 Civil War issue
made by Hernstein. This tourniquet came out of a U. S. Army
Hospital Dept. set, screws in the lid, sliding latches and mark.
The 'T' is not maker marked, but I firmly believe this is the
real thing for the Civil War issued set.
Noted the buckle is blued with articulated
prongs. A much simpler design and construction than the
earlier cast prongs.
(I wonder if there may have been a supplier
to the makers for cast brass tourniquet frames given the complexity
of making the screw mechanism.) |
 
  |
| c.
1860 H.
Hernstein, marked with 393 address that
determines the date.
1855-57: 81 Duane
and 393 Broadway
1858-81 Duane,
131 Mercer, and 393 Broadway
|
 |
| c.
1870 Kern,
marked |
 |
| c.
1870's Gemrig,
note ornate 'T', marked |
 |
| c.
1880 Aloe-Hernstein, German silver, not brass (which says
post 1880). |
 |
|
