Fat Books - Surgical instruments catalogues

Surgical catalogues of instruments and appliances are not the largest, but definitely amongst our fattest, books. This particular item is A Reference List of Surgical Instruments and Medical Appliances, Orthopaedic and Deformity Apparatus, Hospital Furniture and Equipment, Electro-Medical and Surgical Apparatus etc. by Allen & Hanburys Ltd. London, 1930. It contains 1974 pages excluding the index, is 14cm deep and weighs 4.2kg.

Inside, you will find any imaginable surgical and medical instrument and appliance, from anaesthetic apparatus and surgical knives to genito-urinary, gynaecological and midwifery instruments; from lung & chest, throat, ophthalmic and skin grafting instruments to syringes; needles and tourniquets; from injection and infusion apparatus to sick room appliances and theatre lavatories. Not to forget splints, wall charts and models and surgeons’ and physicians’ bags.

As yet, very few of our surgical instrument catalogues have been catalogued. If you have a research interest in the history of surgical instruments and are interested to find out if we hold a particular item, please email library@rcseng.ac.uk.

Steffi Sams, Information Services Manager