SHAGREEN AMPUTATION KIT
Grooved director
Tissue forceps
Bow-framed metacarpal saw
Petit-style tourniquet
Extra blade for a large amputation saw
Bullet forceps with scissor handles
One kit is covered in shark or ray skin (shagreen) and measures 19.5 x 7.75 x 3. The kit contains: bullet forceps with scissor handles; tissue forceps; a grooved director; a Petit-style tourniquet; bow-framed metacarpal saw; and an extra blade for a large amputation saw. Attached inside the hinged top cover is a 19th-century handwritten card tracing the provenance, reading: “Revolutionary Instruments given by Joseph Warren to John Warren to John C. Warren to Henry J. Bigelow. Copy of letter describing them in possession of J. Collins Warren.” A typed early 20th-century card reads, “Instruments. Revolutionary War. Surgical instruments used by Dr. John Warren in the war, and presented to him by his brother, General Joseph Warren. Dr. J. Collins Warren.”