I have a photocopy of the anaesthetic part of the Allen & Hanburys Ltd catalogue entitled "A Reference List of Surgical Instruments and Medical Appliances, Orthopaedic and Deformity Apparatus, Hospital Furniture and Equipment, Electro-Medical and Surgical Apparatus, etc.", dated 1930.

It includes illustrations of the equipment available to anaesthetists at that time, including Clover's and Hewitt's Inhalers, Boyle's Apparatus, and various accessories such as bags and laryngoscopes.

I find the concept of a presentation of all the equipment a British anaesthetist could buy in 1930 quite fascinating, especially as the catalogue includes a sales pitch and a price. With the permission of Glaxo Wellcome UK Limited, I have put a few representative sections on this Web site, and added links to various other sites related to the history of anaesthesia. If there is sufficient interest, I will make more of the catalogue available. Parts of the text are quite interesting and I hope to add them soon. Please send an e-mail to with your comments and encouragement!

(Click images to get enlargements)

The window icon () means that the link is to an image which will appear in a new window. Close the window to return to the list. Other links are to a page with text as well as an illustration.

CONTENTS:

• Inhalers
  1. Wilson and Pinson's Ether "Bomb"
  2. Mennell’s Endo-Tracheal Ether Apparatus
  3. Magill’s Endo-Tracheal Ether Apparatus
  4. Bellamy Gardner's Ether Inhaler
  5. Clover's Ether Inhaler (124 has improved glass chamber.)
  6. De Caux's Inhaler
  7. De Prendeville's Chloroform Inhaler
  8. Esmarch's (64) and Hughes' (65) Chloroform Inhalers
  9. Ethyl Chloride Inhalers Simple (155), Hedley's (107) an Looseley's (109).
  10. Hasler's Ether and Chloroform Apparatus
  11. Hewitt's Inhaler
  12. Howard Jones' Combined Ether Apparatus
  13. Junker's
  14. Levy's (66) and Low's (77) Chloroform Inhalers
  15. Page's (78) and Tyrell's (80) Inhalers
  16. Schimmelbusch's Inhaler (68) and Chadborn's Modification (69)
  17. Schimmelbusch's Mask with Ogston's Frame (72). Separate Ogston's Frame (73)
  18. Shipway's Warm Ether and Chloroform Apparatus
  19. Shipway's Warm Ether Chloroform Oxygen Apparatus
  20. Silk's Inhaler. (Ether or ACE) Celluloid and metal versions.
  21. Sington's Warm Ether Apparatus
  22. Traver's Warm Ether Apparatus
  23. Yankauer's (75) and Dunkley's (77) Inhalers
• Nitrous Oxide Apparatus
  1. Frankis Evans'
  2. Hewitt's
  3. Allen & Hanbury's Improved
• Syringes
  1. Gray's
  2. Labat's
  3. Moynihan's
• Anaesthetists' Bags
• Angle Bag Mount with swivel cap (126) or stopcock (128).
• Laryngoscopes

OTHER INTERNET RESOURCES ABOUT THE HISTORY OF ANAESTHESIA:

• Virtual Museum of Anesthesiology has biographical information about anaesthetists and some portrait and equipment images.
• Anesthesia History Association
• The Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology
  Librarians are s.graham@asahq.org and p.sim@asahq.org