Alethea Drexler, archives assistant. This week’s Thingmajig is part of our collection of items donated at some uncertain time, by an unknown donor, without any documentation. Once again: We don’t know what this is. We know that it’s related to the dental profession, but that’s about it. It’s very heavy for its size (it’s only… Continue Reading Thingamajig […]
Thingamajig: Hermann Hospital, 1949
by Alethea Drexler archives assistant I spent a good part of this week unscrambling a box of photographs that had gotten caught up in a re-organization project of some sort, ages ago. Luckily, there weren’t very many pictures involved, although cross-checking them against the card catalog (in two series!) and the online catalog was a… Continue Reading Thingamajig: Hermann Hospital, 1949 […]
Thingamajig
by Alethea Drexler Archives assistant In the spirit of vintage Thingamajig, we present to you . . . something. This was given to the Research Center by Dr. Frank C. Arnett (it even has his name engraved on it). It’s about seven inches long and made of metal (probably stainless steel), with a black rubber… Continue Reading Thingamajig […]
UT Dental School’s toilet tissue issue.
By Kristin Smits University of North Texas graduate student in Library Science (Kristin is doing a practicum at the McGovern Historical Collections and Research Center. She processed the UT Dental Branch collection as part of her work here.) The images of correspondence at the bottom of this entry are about students getting out of sorts… Continue Reading UT Dental School’s toilet tissue issue. […]
Thingamajig: medication packaging
By Alethea Drexler Archives Assistant For this week’s Thingamajig, I dug out some of the more picturesque vintage medication packages. Sometime, seemingly in the 1940’s or 1950’s, medication boxes and bottles started to look very much like modern boxes and bottles, but some of the older examples are pretty artistic. (These photographs have been spliced… Continue Reading Thingamajig: medication packaging […]
Thingamajig: we're baaaaaaaack!
By Alethea Drexler Archives Assistant The Thingamajig returns! I didn’t intend to get this far behind, but it’s past time to get back on track and dig some more curiosities out of the archives. Today’s Thingamajig is an artificial heart valve, from the medical instruments collection. This one was given to us by Dr. Don… Continue Reading Thingamajig: we're baaaaaaaack! […]
Thingamajig: Glass syringe
Today’s Thingamajig comes from the A.M. Autrey, Sr., Collection of Medical Instruments. Here we have a glass and metal syringe and hypodermic needles, nestled comfortably in a padded, satin-lined, case. The metal may be silver. The syringe as we know it was invented, based on the earlier development of the fine, hollow, needle, in 1853… Continue Reading Thingamajig: Glass syringe […]
Thingamajig: Mystery doctor
The official Thingamajig was rained in today, so we’re presenting you with a different kind of puzzle. Do you recognize this doctor? This image, and two accompanying images featuring the doctor on the right, are part of the HRC photograph collection, but we don’t know who the man is, and we don’t recognize the setting. … Continue Reading Thingamajig: Mystery doctor […]
Thingamajig: baleen and Hyfrecator
By Alethea Drexler Archives Assistant Thingamajig took a vacation last week, but it’s back. The mystery objects in the black lacquered case were called “bougies,” and they were basically medical pipe-cleaners. They were used to remove debris from small wounds and orifices; the one of the most commonly-cited uses involved dislodging urethral calculi. They are… Continue Reading Thingamajig: baleen and Hyfrecator […]
Thingamajig: lacquered case
By Alethea Drexler Archives Assistant A request was made this past weekend that the Thingamajig feature be posted on the blog’s main page so that it could be tagged and archived, instead of being replaced completely every week. So . . . here it is! Black lacquered carrying case This week’s Thingamajig came with the… Continue Reading Thingamajig: lacquered case […]