FIRST FORM LAENNEC STETHOSCOPE, French, c. 1820. Made of turned wood, French walnut apparently, and measuring 12-3/4" (actually 325 cm) overall, and 1-1/2" (38 mm) in diameter, the cylindrical stethoscope has three parts fitting together by wood screw thread and by brass tube fitting. The male thread is on an inset plug of boxwood; the brass tube was formed (as appropriate for the period) by rolling and then soldering or braising. The stethoscope is pierced the full length by a 7.8 mm diameter bore, and both ends are slightly concave. Condition is very fine and complete, noting slight nicks and stains, the male thread possibly restored at one time, and the brass tube quite tight to insert due to wood shrinkage.

In use the two halves must necessarily be screwed together, and the conical funnel-shaped opening placed to the chest; Laennec recommended this arrangement for studying sounds communicated by respiration. The optional conical plug could be inserted, forming a complete tube, to study sounds of both heart and voice activity.

This is the model of 1819, illustrated in the first edition of René Théophile Hyacinthe Laennec's De l'auscultation médiate, ou traité du diagnostic.... Laennec apparently made these screw thread instruments himself, giving them to a number of his colleagues; striking evidence of this is given in the full provenance that came with a very similar stethoscope (Tesseract Catalogue 34 item 8), and also in Dr. T. Williams 1907 testimony. Laennec also sold them with his book (the two volumes 13 francs, the instrument an extra 3 francs!) The detailed dimensions of the present example match very closely those of our Catalogue 34 instrument, as well as those published by Laennec in 1819 (where he continued the old French system of ligne / pouce/ pied, but was quite precise in his specifications). This threaded wood design rapidly evolved into a press fit wood design, with matching rounded fittings and the brass tube (circa 1821, as illustrated in the 1826 edition). This allowed the stethoscope to be used either full length or half length (depending on size and condition of the patient), and with or without the pectoral plug. Within a few years the favored design was similar, still with an interchangeable choice of length, but with matching shoulder-and-cone wood joints and no brass tube (see Laennec; Forbes; Blaufox).

A rare example of the first form, as crafted by Laennec himself, made within the first year or two of the invention of the stethoscope. (7485) $18,500.

UNCOMMON DENTAL SET, French, c. 1875, signed in the case "H. Galante à Paris" and "Galante, Instruments de Chirurgie, 2 rue de l'Ecole de Medecine, Paris," and on the major instruments (toothkey and two forceps) "Galante." This fine set comprises eleven tools, plus a small turned ebony box and an auxiliary tooth key claw of larger size. The eight-sided tapered wood handles are ebony; the lovely tooth key handle is turned horn. The full set is contained in its original 8" x 10" x 1-5/8" (20 x 25 x 4 cm) wood case covered in black fabric and lined with red chamois, complete with original key. The set is complete and all original, with the possible exception of the elevator. Condition is very fine throughout. The maker was Henri Galante, established in Paris in 1851. Catalogues are known from 1853 to 1885 (see Davis and Dreyfuss), and the firm had representatives in London and in Naples. A rare example of a cased French dental operating set. (7439) $2950.

THE OBSTETRIC CRANIOMETER / PELVIMETER OF PROFESSOR BUDIN, French, last quarter 19th century, signed "Collin." Beautifully crafted of plated steel, gilt brass, and gilt steel, the calipers are 16-3/8" (42 cm) long with finely shaped arms, tension adjustment nut, long graduated arc, and splendid arrow shaped index pointer. The arc is divided in millimeters of opening, from 0 to 16 cm inside diameter, and 0 to 37 cm outside diameter. It is an elegant instrument, of exhibition quality, in very fine condition throughout.

Listed in their trade catalogues as the "obstetric craniometer of Budin, as modified by Collin," the calipers can be used both for intra- and extra-uterine craniometry, as well as for both internal and external pelvimetry to assess the capacity of the birth canal and consequences for difficult labor. It is the invention of Pierre-Constant Budin (1846 - 1907), one of the founders of neonatology. From the outset Dr. Budin was an active researcher, teacher, practitioner, and innovator. In 1895, he succeeded Prof. Tarnier as Chairman of Obstetrics at Port Royal Maternité in Paris, and developed the first specialized infant care center, for premature and low birth weight babies. He devoted his successful 35-year career to improving the well-being of newborns. (8333) $3950.

EARLY FORM OF PHOROPTER, French, c. second half 19th century. Measuring 15-1/2" x 5-3/4" x 11-1/2" high (39 x 15 x 29 cm), the device is constructed of mahogany (?) in the form of a diminutive table mounted with an optical box set with viewing ports and containing four long wood interposable sliders. Each slider (labeled -1, -2, +1, +2) carries a series of five lenses (labeled A, B, C, D, E). Various combinations of four lenses give a wide variety of corrective powers. The box is mounted with an oval plaque signed "DIOPTROMETRE AUTOMATIQUE de Ed. Pauty, Breveté S.G.D.G." and with the remains of a paper card converting various slider combinations to diopter corrections (from 0.75 to 7).

The patient sits in front of the little table, and for each eye reports on the best combination of slider positions to the ophthalmologist, thus determining the eye's refractive error.

This is the first example of Pauty's patented "Dioptromètre" we have seen. It is extremely rare, and is in fine condition throughout. (7489) $3950.