Who
collects this medical stuff anyway?
The serious medical
collectors of early (pre-1900) medical and surgical instruments are generally
a quiet, well heeled, and knowledgeable group who tend to collect in
isolation.
From what I have pieced together over the
years, most if not the majority of the long-term collectors are
doctors of some ilk. If you find a medical collectors group, you will note the majority of
the collectors are MD's. There are also collectors who are in associated
fields like, teachers, medical manufacturing, or dentistry. Some of the larger
collections are in the hands of a few older physicians and museums who
started way back before the internet and
amassed significant collections via auctions and dealer networks. This
is not to cast dispersions on any one who collects in other areas of medical
antiques, but obviously my collecting interests are focused on the pre-1900
era and that is the bias of this discussion for now.
There are several
general directions a collection can take:
General medical
collecting which covers it all
Medical specialty:
urology, neurosurgery, surgery, ob-gyn, etc.
Historical pieces, to
include heavily used instruments and sets
European sets,
mixed with some American makers
American made
sets, mixed with some European sets
Individual
instruments without regard to 'sets'
Condition
collecting which tends to lean toward more complete and unused sets
Field-use
collecting which will encompass a larger scope of sets and instruments
without worrying about the condition.
These directions can
cross and mix producing many varied types of collections which reflect the
taste and personality of the given collector.
Of course museums
collect and display many of the finest pieces, but some individual collections
would approximate the large institutional collections if not in size, then in
quality. Many of the museums acquired their collections from individual
collectors who donated or bequeathed their lifetime collections. Most
serious collectors are very quiet about their obsession and quietly display
their collections only in their homes. (Based on my personal experience, this
quietness about the obsession is due to the looks one gets when you tell
others you collect old steak knives and bloody saws) There are a few
collectors who display their collections in their offices or hospital
venues.
In the past we have been
contacted my multiple doctor/collectors who have collected in isolation and
are now trying to sell their collections. So many of these collectors
did not have the advantage of a 'friend in the business' and were subjected
to dealers who sold them antiques of questionable quality or provenance. The best I can offer
at this point is ask you to
see the following advisory article about
liquidating a long-term collection.
Most of us have
been confronted by other members of our respective professions who do not
understand or care about these historical items and scoff at their value or
show little interest. It's their loss and our gain. You may or may
not be surprised to learn that many sets are sold by dealers to parents of
individuals graduating from medical school. These gifts place individual
sets in the hands of non-collectors who may become collectors in the future.
Civil War
collectors may be among the largest group of individuals who possess surgical
sets. Most Civil War collectors try to place at least one representative
set in their collections. My experience to date is that many of the sets
purchased for this purpose are not really of Civil War vintage. However,
collecting Civil War artifacts is a growing interest and sure to bury many
more sets than strictly medical collectors will acquire.
Another group of
individuals who actively collect medical instruments are the Civil War
re-enactors. The re-enactors recreate surgical and medical dramas
exhibiting procedures which took place during the Civil War . They
typically are not interested in being all that precise about which era or
makers' instruments are used for the drama, but they do tend to buy a lot of
instrument material which would normally be repatriated with the correct sets
by preservationists like myself.
Without doubt, the
greatest concentration of surgical sets is most likely in the hands of
family members of deceased doctors whose instruments have remained in the
family. Many isolated sets are owned by individuals who will never be
known or seen again within our lifetime. These individuals do not
collect, but just 'own' a single set for any number of reasons. These
are the people who typically contact me through this Website to do research or
offer their heirloom for sale...
Most of the younger
collectors at this time are a diverse and scattered group who have little or
no connection with one another. There is no real "club" or
organized group however I am in constant contact with a large circle of
collector friends who stay in touch via email. I welcome others to
keep in touch.
There are or were only a handful of active antique medical dealers who sell mainly medical
antiques, many of whom also deal scientific or Civil War antiques. The
patrons of those individuals are a closely held secret as there is much
competition for the really choice sets which rarely come to market. When
I talk about "patrons", we're talking the $3,000 and up for a single item
buyers. With the advent of eBay, and the connectivity of the internet,
more and more collectors are surfacing to buy pieces at auction on-line.
In general, the
community of collectors of medical antiques tend to be a highly educated group
with their interests concentrated in the area of their specialty if they are
in the medical field. It is not unusual to find a specialist, like an
ob/gyn, collecting the tools of the trade. Some of us are more eclectic
and collect widely out of curiosity or the love of well made and historical
pieces.
Getting
started with medical collecting:
So you want to
start collecting medical antiques? First, and foremost, arm yourself
with every book you can buy. It's going to cost you several
hundred dollars, but will help direct your search and ultimately save you
thousands in mistakes. See the
books section
of this Website for direction to sources for the books I use, but note that my
interests have narrowed and I do not list all collecting books.
Obtaining that
first buy can be daunting, so finding someone to hold your hand and mentor you
can be helpful. Connecting with other collectors is your best bet.
If you are going to
collect Civil War sets, good luck!
Knowledge is your best advisor:
buy books!
