Medical Appliances Trade Catalogues for Hawksley and Sons, Surgical Appliances and Instrument Makers, Oxford Street, London

The following is an interim description which may change when detailed cataloguing takes place in the future:

A series of six volumes of 'in-house' medical appliances trade catalogues of Hawksley & Sons of 357 Oxford Street, London, with many pasted-in cut-outs from journals, brochures and other printed sources, plus a number of hand-drawn ink or pencil diagrams and manuscript notes or instructions. The volumes also contain some loose inserts.

These volumes provide a wealth of information about the company's orthopaedic instruments, trusses, bandages and surgical appliances. The albums are not dated but appear to have been compiled from around the 1880s to the first decade of the 20th century. They are arranged by type as titled in gilt on the spines as follows:

I - Head, Neck, Ears, Nose (MS.8732)

II - Trusses, Urinals, Restraints (MS.8733)

III - Scoliosis, Potts, Lordosis, Exercise (MS.8734)

IV - Pelvis, Knee, Patella, Foot (MS.8735)

V - Mecahnism A. Arms, A. Legs, W. Cramp (MS.8736)

VI - Valgus, Equinus, Varus, Paralysis (MS.8737)

c.1882-c.1910

6 volumes

Purchased from Bonhams, Kidlington, Oxford, 23/02/2010.

Hawksley & Sons (now known as Hawksley Medical and Laboratory Equipment) was established in Oxford Street, London, in 1869 by Charles Hawksley. The company was bought by US business William Baum in the 1930s and began making precision blood pressure measuring equipment. In the 1950s the company began a programme of ultra centrifuge development with Beckmann of the US. This led to production of the original Hawksley Haematospin 1400, which set the standard for Micro Haematocrit centrifuges for decades after. In the 1960s the company developed sophisticated patient warning systems and anti-decubitus mattresses which became the Ripple Heat, Ripple Cool and Air-Support mattresses that Hawksley makes today. The company also developed an extensive verterinary range. The company was bought by Maurice Gale and Rupert Robin, professional engineers, in 2003.

This collection is currently uncatalogued and cannot be ordered online. Requests to view uncatalogued material are considered on a case by case basis. Please contact collections@wellcomecollection.org for more details.