This is a 3 layer ebony handled
surgical set by Ferris and Company, Bristol. The firm was established in
about 1770 and has remained in Bristol, England to the present day. This set
dates near the end of the pre-sterilization era. The brass bound mahogany
box is not lined in velvet, which is one sign of its later date. One very
rare and interesting component of this set is the Skey's tourniquet. The box
has a variety of tourniquets in the lowest compartment (including Petit and
field styles) but the Skey variety is rarely found. The design must not have
been very successful or it would have been made in much larger numbers.
