Doctor's Bag (2019.06.001)

Doctor's Bag (2019.06.001)

Nebraska State Tuberculosis Hospital, Artifact, Doctor's Bag, Medical Bag

Black doctor's bag. Bag is rectangular and box-shaped, with two handles and a metal locking mechanism on the top. The top flips open to each side, and each side has several compartments. The inside is open, with six black leather loops toward the bottom, and a long, flat compartment. NOTE: Avoid closing if possible. Artifact can lock if sides are closed completely. We do not have the key, though the lock can be opened if rattled around.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: There is information about Dr. Burton Bancroft in the Frank Museum archives, as well as in the paper accession record. AW ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ These types of bags go by various different names, such as doctor's bag, medical bag, or physician's bag. The company that made this particular bag was known as Kruse Doctor Bags. Could not find much information on them, though they apparently produced only doctor bags made from cow hides. Could not find when they were active or if they are still even in business, but they seemed to be most active in the 1920s and 1930s with their bags being used by doctors during World War II. Doctor's bags were necessary for doctors in the past, as one of their main duties was to make house calls; many of their patients could either not afford, did not have, or were too sick to use transportation (horses mainly) to the doctor's office. People would rarely request for the doctor to visit their house; people would wait to see if their condition got better on its own, and only if it did not, or got much worse, would they notify the doctor. Because of the previous two points, doctor's bags had to essentially be mobile doctor's offices, including tools for diagnosis, treatment, and recovery tools, and carry a wide variety of tools and instruments as doctors would treat most every condition. The bags were sometimes referred to as a "Portable Pharmacy" as doctors would carry numerous drugs in their bags. With the advent of the pharmaceutical industry and the mass production of medicine, some would produce special portable medicine and cases specifically for doctor's bags. Though not unheard of, at-home surgeries performed by doctors was rare and a last resort. Still, doctors would carry with them scalpels, scissors, probes, etc. Most doctor's bags had locks. This was because, as a bag with many sharp objects and drugs, it needed protection from tampering/stealing and to keep people from accidentally cutting themselves. Information gathered from: Health Clic (https://healthclic.co.uk/blog/where-did-the-house-call-originate/) Western Illinois Museum (https://wimuseum.org/doctor-making-house-a-collection-of-doctors-bags/) Oregon Health & Science University (https://www.ohsu.edu/historical-collections-archives/medicine-move-kits-cases-and-carry-alls-history-healthcare) The National Library of Medicine's collection of the Canadian Medical Association Journal (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3255184/) The Australian Family Physician (https://www.racgp.org.au/afp/2016/september/a-historical-account-of-the-doctors-bag/) MAHI Leather (https://mahileather.com/blogs/news/all-you-need-to-know-about-leather-doctor-s-bags) WorthPoint (https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/doctor-bag-antique-kruse-black-401958495) Antiques.com (https://www.antiques.com/classified/Antique-Books---Manuscripts/Science---Medicine/Antique-1920--s-KRUSE-Doctor--s-Medical-Bag-w-Contents) Information compiled by Logan Osmera

c. 1950s

For all objects in accession # 2019.06: Doctor's bag, medical equipment, medicine, and other items all originally belonged to Dr. Burton Bancroft who came to Kearney is 1956 and was the first trained surgeon in the community, according to John Bancroft- Dr. Burton Bancroft's son who found the the doctor's bag in a closet. The bag contained all of the items within accession record #2019.06. Dr. Bancroft occasionally provided aid to patients at the Nebraska State Hospital for Tuberculosis in Kearney, NE.

Doctor's Bag