POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Set of Weedon post-mortem instruments used by Dr Charles Nathan in Sydney, 1830-1860

Object No. H4040

This group of steel-bladed tools, including a saw, hammer, chisel, scalpels and retractors, was designed for dissecting human bodies after death. By helping doctors understand the effects of disease and trauma, this can lead to improved treatment for future patients. Observing a post mortem dissection is also a valuable learning experience for medical students. The kit was probably used by one of Sydney's early surgeons, Dr Charles Nathan, between his arrival in the colony in 1841 and his death in 1872. Debbie Rudder In the late 18th to early 19th century the practice of medicine underwent a revolution as doctors began to recognise that diseases were not patchworks of symptoms, but instead were caused by underlying lesions (such as tumours, inflammation and gangrene) in the tissues within the body. Autopsies (dissection of patients after death) became an important means for confirming bedside diagnoses and for learning about the nature of disease. By the mid-1800s a set of post-mortem instruments would have constituted an important part of a surgeon's equipment. What makes this case of post-mortem instruments particularly interesting is that it is believed to have belonged to Charles Nathan, a notable surgeon in Sydney in the mid-1800s. The brass plate on the lid of the case is engraved 'C.Nathan' and information received by the Museum when the case was donated in 1938 states that it was 'once the property of Charles Nathan, one of the first surgeons to the Sydney Infirmary and Dispensary '. Born and educated in London, Nathan migrated to Sydney in 1841. In 1845 he was one of the original four doctors appointed to the new Sydney Infirmary and Dispensary (later to become Sydney Hospital). In 1847 he and a Dr Belisario were the first doctors ever to administer an anaesthetic in Australia. For this innovation he was bitterly attacked in the Australian Medical Journal, but defended in an editorial in the Sydney Morning Herald. Subsequent highlights in Dr Nathan's career include his use of ether anaesthetic when manipulating congenital dislocations of the hip; his later preference for chloroform, which he administered to his own wife in childbirth; his attendance on His Royal Highness Prince Alfred when he was wounded in 1868; and his part in the founding of the New South Wales branch of the British Medical Association and a number of other important institutions in New South Wales. Nathan died from heart disease in 1872 at the age of 56.

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Summary

Object Statement

Post-mortem instruments and case, owned and used by Dr Charles Nathan (1816-1872), Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, metal / ivory / wood, made by Thomas Weedon, London, 1830-1860

Physical Description

Post-mortem instruments and case, owned and used by Dr Charles Nathan (1816-1872), Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, metal / ivory / wood, made by Thomas Weedon, London, 1830-1860 Mahogany case lined with dark red velvet and containing twenty-one post-mortem instruments. The tools are steel with ivory handles and include a pair of scissors, saw blade, scalpels, knife blade, knife handle, blow pipe, chisel blade, hammer head, needles, tweezers and two sets of hooks on chains.

DIMENSIONS

Height

46 mm

Width

555 mm

Depth

120 mm

Weight

1.1 kg

HISTORY

Notes

This case of post-mortem instruments is believed to have belonged to Charles Nathan, a notable surgeon in Sydney in the mid-1800s. The brass plate on the lid of the case is engraved 'C.Nathan' and information received by the museum when the case was donated in 1938 states that it was 'once the property of Charles Nathan, one of the first surgeons to the Sydney Infirmary and Dispensary ...' Born and educated in London, Nathan migrated to Sydney in 1841. In 1845 he was one of the original four doctors appointed to the new Sydney Infirmary and Dispensary (later to become Sydney Hospital). In 1947 he and a Dr Belisario were the first doctors ever to administer an anaesthetic in Australia. Subsequent highlights in Dr Nathan's career include his use of ether anaesthetic when manipulating congenital dislocations of the hip; his later preference for chloroform, which he administered to his own wife in childbirth; his attendance on the Duke of Edinburgh when he was wounded in 1868; and his part in the founding of the New South Wales branch of the British Medical Association and a number of other important institutions in New South Wales. Nathan died from heart disease in 1872 at the age of 56.

SOURCE

Credit Line

Gift of Mr Lyster Ormsby, 1938

Acquisition Date

17 May 1938

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