General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

1

Total Parts

1

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

Wooden cabinet and base with glass panes, and jars, possibly glass discs, brass and ferrous metal parts, and synthetic attachments.

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

152.0 cm

Width

91.9 cm

Height

191.3 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Medical Technology

Category

Medical equipment

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Western Surgical

Country

United States of America

State/Province

Illinois

City

Chicago

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

Period

ca. 1903-1940s

Canada

This machine would have been used at the Montreal Homeopathic Hospital which was founded in 1894 (and later moved and became the Queen Elizabeth Hospital). The MHH was located on McGill College Avenue, and co-existed with the rise of McGill as a medical powerhouse nationally and internationally with personalities such as Maude Abbott and William Osler. A machine such as this would have straddled several medical traditions and cultures at a time of enormous flux and change in the wider field.

Function

This electrostatic machine could produce high voltage used for various purposes in medicine and physics demonstrations.

Technical

At the turn of the 19th century, models such as this one with multiple disks could produce enough electricity to power the x-rays for diagnosis and treatment. Prior to that, these larger machines were often used for different forms of electrotherapy. This model could be a rare example from the turn of the century when these machines transitioned from electrotherapy to x-ray uses. Chicago was one of the main manufacturing hubs at the time for electrotherapy machines and later x-ray technologies. Western Surgical, however, was not a prominent maker of these machines, and does not seem to have made them past c. 1905. The disks on this machine should be studied further as they are often made of diverse materials – glass, mica, resins, shellac.

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

On the plate at the top front: "MANUFACTURED BY/ WESTERN SURGICAL/ INSTRUMENT HOUSE/ CHICAGO"

Missing

Appears to be missing a motor and drive belts.

Finish

Dark brown wood cabinet with black attachments, translucent reddish glass Leyden jars with grey and green metal, brass-coloured electrodes and jar bases, and dull yellow discs inside.

Decoration

N/A