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CIVIL WAR FIELD TOURNIQUET – IN LIKE NEW, UNUSED
CONDITION IN ORIGINAL WRAPPER: One of the more
necessary, and certainly the most immediate, medical
instrument that was employed to treat the terrible
wounds suffered by the Civil War soldier on the
battlefield, these Field Tourniquets were part of the
basic medical equipment of every Civil War regimental
surgeon and his staff.
Identical to the examples pictured on pages 30 and 31 of
Dr. Dammann’s Pictorial Encyclopedia of Civil War
Medical Instruments and Equipment, Volume One, this tourniquet
is also identical to a very few other specimens of
"Field Tourniquets" that
have appeared on the market through the years, and all
are likely from the same
original package of one dozen pieces that was discovered
intact many years ago. All of the specimens still in the
paper wrapper all bear the same hand written ink
inscription "FIELD TOURNIQUET", all written in the same
hand, indicating the same person at the manufacturer
wrote this notation on each tourniquet.
One of these
tourniquets I had at one time had been removed from the
wrapper and it was exactly the same size,
form and configuration as all of those still in the wrapper
that I have had.
The cloth strap was coiled around the brass buckle and
pad and was secured with a straight pin. The side of
the brass buckle was stamped with the manufacturer’s
name, “Tienchken”.
(See photograph below of this unwrapped tourniquet.)
Given the consistency of the appearance of all of these,
I believe these surviving examples were all made by the same manufacturer
-“Tiencken” - Julius Tiencken of New York. Tiencken
is known to have secured a contract to produce surgical
sets for the US Hospital Department during the Civil
War. The firm was relatively small, hence his
production was necessarily small, and today his medical
equipment is considered to be far from common and is
actively sought by collectors.
Literally in like new condition,
this tourniquet is still in the original string tied
paper wrapper which bears the hand written legend “Field
Tourniquet”. The wrapper is fully intact and shows no
sign of ever having been disturbed or opened.
There is one small pin hole, likely where the paper was
pressed against one of the sharp corners of the brass
buckle. Otherwise, this is an excellent example
and could not be upgraded.
These field tourniquets
are a scarce item, and finding one with the original
wrapper is notable. (1007) $595
NOTE: A special note of thanks is due to
Dr. Michael Echols, owner of American Civil War
Medical & Surgical Antiques
for his time and assistance in
identifying and properly dating these tourniquets. Dr. Echol’s web site is well worth visiting -
www.braceface.com - even if
your primary interest field is not medical antiques – if
nothing else, it will make you appreciate modern
medicine.
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