Manufacturer Of Surgical Instruments, Orthopedic And Prosthetic Equipment Catalogue by Maison Mathieu, c. 1905 | 15th Edition

"Manufacturer of Surgical Instruments, Orthopedic and Prosthetic Equipment, Physiological and Anthropological Instruments, and Fine Cutlery," 15th Edition, published circa 1905 by Maison Mathieu in Paris and Lyon. This extensively illustrated catalogue features thousands of drawings of medical instruments and apparatus, documenting the specialized tools available to physicians, surgeons, and other practitioners in the early twentieth century. A photographic frontispiece depicts the company’s atelier.

Quarto (6" x 9.5"). xviii, 484 pages. Bound in full flexible green cloth with gilt lettering to the upper board and spine, and grey endpapers. The binding shows edgewear, bumped and rubbed corners, staining, soiling, scuffing, and sun-fading to the spine gilt. The spine ends are ruffled with small closed tears; the foot is beginning to fray, and a half-inch tear is present at the head of the rear joint. Both hinges have small tears with mesh visible, and one corner is rubbed through to the boards. An AGNM ex-library bookplate and a tipped-in payment-terms slip appear on the front pastedown. The front free endpaper and title page bear old ink markings and library stamps. Stickers obscure portions of the title-page lettering, and a bold ink signature on page VII has transferred to the preceding page. Pages are evenly toned, with occasional finger smudges.

A richly illustrated early twentieth-century trade catalogue of interest to collectors of medical antiques, historians of surgical instruments, and those studying the development of orthopedic, prosthetic, physiological, and anthropological equipment.