To good to be true?

[LewisSullivan]

Hello,
Well this is my first post. I am new to the whole Medical aspect of the civil war, not living history though. I guess I decided that if I didn't want to be a real doctor I would reenact one. Anyways to the question. I have found this item on 'ebay'. Yes I know.. ebay is evil. Could you fellos take a look at it and tell me if it fits. From the research I have done it seems to and at $58. I couldn't turn it down. I know the lining is incorrect but a quick fix at wal-mart should do the trick yes? Let me know..

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...5254&rd=1&rd=1

- Lewis

[NoahBriggs]

Yeah, I have seen this already. Ask the seller for his documentation.

[TimKindred]

Comrades,

Yeah, it's too good to be true. There is also a couple of fellows selling "fantasy" medical stuff on ebay. many fellows, actually. One guy is taking post-CW instruments, and adding wooden handles to them and reselling them for reenactors. They have a light-colored handle. Basically, he's gluing a piece of wood onto each side, then sanding it down and giving it a clear coat. CW period handles were nearly always one-pieve, with the instrument set into the handle.

Also, you'll see all sorts of crappola labeled as "CW Medical". Your best bet is to get ahold of the three-volume, soft-cover encyclopedia of CW Medocal Equipment by Dr. Gordon Dammaan. It's a great starting resource as to what types of stuff was actually available, and how it was used. Full of photographs of the actual items.

Here is a set on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/3-CIVIL-WAR-MEDI...QQcmdZViewItem


Regardless, don't be afraid to come on here and list the item you are looking at, or have a question about. Folks here are more than happy to help out.

Respects,

[LewisSullivan]

Oh, I know the kit is a reporduction.. I am saying does it 'look' authentic to use in reenactments. If not is there anything that can be done to fix it or did I just throw away $58?

- Lewis

[NoahBriggs]

Looks like he was trying to simulate or reproduce this:

http://www.warplay.com/wpe33.jpg (Thanks, verg.)

Either way, the burden of proof is on him to defend the legitimacy of his item. It may be a good quality item well put-together, but that does not automatically mean it's "accurate."

Alex Peck's website has a section which has collecting alerts. I don't think it's been updated in a while, but there is a lot of useful stuff onsite there anyway.

http://www.antiquescientifica.com/alerts.htm

this will save you from getting a "combination amputation knife/saw" which I saw waved around at one event. The owner actually justified his position with the trademark farb motto: if they'd 'a had it, they'd a used it.

Oh, the horror stories. We could tell. But I digress.

Your best bet is research, research, research. Dammam's book is a light beer version of the Teimann catalogue. Tiemann's is available on eBay on CD-ROM and book. Usually sold through "Steinmed".

[NoahBriggs]

One guy is taking post-CW instruments, and adding wooden handles to them and reselling them for reenactors. They have a light-colored handle. Basically, he's gluing a piece of wood onto each side, then sanding it down and giving it a clear coat. CW period handles were nearly always one-pieve, with the instrument set into the handle.

Who, so we know to avoid him?

[cwmed]

Dear Gents,

I would not use Damans books as Bibles he has some things wrong and miss-labled you should refer to Lords or anouther more reliable sorce.

Thanks,

Luke Castleberry

[hanktrent]

There's no standard, of course, for what's "good enough." However, one can discuss differences between reproductions and originals, what attributes were typical of the period, whether something is an exact duplicate of a particular original or was made generically in the style of the period, how far out of the norm is it, etc.

Let us all open Damman Vol. 1 and turn to page 63. We will now sing...

I mean, check out the "hospital drug chest" at the top of the page. Very similar to the eBay offering on the surface. Got the same five large jars with flat pasteboard(?) tops in back, lots of small jars in front, except there's no bandage compartment like the eBay auction.

The original in Dammann's is "73 cm x 36 cm x 48 cm," which translates to about 28" x 14" x 19". No dimensions are given in the auction, but from the photos the repro looks much smaller. If those are 3"-4" bandages, it might be 12-18" wide. Since he may have been reproducing a smaller original case, that's not really an issue, but it does show a dramatic difference in scale.

Without knowing whether he's reproducing a specific original, we have to talk about what was typical.

Here are some things to note. If anyone has seen other cases that contradict these observations, or show that something I've claimed was unusual was in fact typical, please correct me!

The Dammann's case is mahogany veneer, and typically, period boxes/cases/trunks/containers made of cheap wood were covered with something--veneer, leather, paint. In the auction, it's hard to tell on the case in the foreground, but the case in the rear clearly is showing its dovetails.

The mindset of the period would be not to show off the dovetails with a stain. You'd usually either cover the case, or if made of finer wood that you wanted to finish with the grain showing, join the corner in such a way that the dovetails wouldn't show. And, to top it off, the large square dovetails are typical of post-war joinery, while mid 19th century dovetails typically had uneven spacing, with wide "tails" and narrow wedges.

It looks like it has snap-down footlocker-style latches on the front. Not something I've seen typical of 19th century medical cases. Most had an inset lock that extended from the edge of the lid into the edge of the front and latched with a key, or some similar arrangement such as an exterior hasp for a padlock on a cruder box. In a world full of servants, theft was always an issue, and typical period cabinetry was awash in locks. The inset hinges though are nice and very typical.

Having a list of ingredients pasted on the lid shows up on some period cases. The typeface and layout don't really have a "wow, that looks period" look to them, though. The medicines are pretty typical for a basic selection from the period, though "pills" occurs way more than "tablets" in period inventories.

Can't see the bottles or labels really well, but from the photos I don't see anything terribly wrong, if those are cork (or ground glass) and paper/pasteboard stoppers.

In short, if this got knocked around a bit and had some age to it, would it pass for an original? Not in my opinion. Would it cause the average medical reenactor to run away screaming "farb"? Not in my opinion. Is it the bargain of the century? Well, I'd say it would cost about that in materials to make it yourself. A reenactor who really wanted to have a spot-on typical-for-the-period reproduction might make a few different choices and/or wish for things that were way more expensive, like veneer.

Some superficial defarbing might help it a lot, too, unless the maker has specific documentation for things like the footlocker latches, an original-finish stained case with dovetails showing (if they do), and so forth.

I noticed he's in North Carolina and the enlargement of the label shows it's supposed to be a case made by a company in North Carolina. Be interesting to know if it's based on an original in a local museum? If so, and the original has the above features I commented on, everything I said just became moot.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[TimKindred]

Dear Gents,

I would not use Damans books as Bibles he has some things wrong and miss-labled you should refer to Lords or anouther more reliable sorce.

Thanks,

Luke Castleberry

Comrade,

Actually, Lord's is about as accurate as the EOG series. Despite his remarkable collection, many of Mr. Lord's "items" have been shown to be post-war, or seriously lacking in documentation.

Now, it is true that Dr. Dammaan has some errors as well, but he talks about many of those in the later editions, and I find that, as a general guide for someone starting to look into the subject, it has a useful place and is a good investment.

Respects,

[LewisSullivan]

Thanks for posting the 'flaws'. I am actually quite handy when it comes to making/changing things and its a big help to know that it 'could' be fixed. I requested the information to come along with it.. we will see how 'generous' he is with that request. I have two more items I would very much apprciate a 'verdict' on. Thanks for the help thus far guys!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...2939&rd=1&rd=1

and

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...5433&rd=1&rd=1


- Lewis