Case with gynecological-obstetric instruments

Exhibit of the Month 3 / 2024

The case with gynecological-obstetric instruments (inv. no. T-270) was donated to the Regional Museum in Most (then Stadtmuseum Brüx, located at Fleischbankgasse - the street of meat shops) by Johanna Tschuchner on February 18, 1892. Mrs. Johanna was the widow of MUDr. Kajetán Tschuschner, who was born on May 2, 1820, in Horní Jiřetín. He graduated from the medical faculty in Prague in 1846 with a dissertation on gallstones. He died in Most on November 27, 1882.

The set includes the following instruments: sharp decapitation hook – crochet (1), blunt hook (2), in two parts cephalotribe + metal rod (3), obstetrical forceps (4), vaginal speculum (5). Apart from the obstetrical forceps, which were used during the delivery of a live child, these are instruments for so-called reduction, destructive operations, where it was necessary to remove a dead fetus and thus save the life of the mother.

The instruments were manufactured by Hynek Ignaz Stelzig (1800-1869), a cutler and manufacturer of surgical, obstetric, and autopsy instruments in Prague (the brand can be found stamped on the flat part in the middle of the cephalotribe). He opened his shop and workshop in 1824 at Ovocná Street No. 376, now 28. října Street No. 377, in Prague. His customers included several university institutes, including the Physiological Institute of Jan Evangelista Purkyně. After Stelzig's death, his son-in-law Jindřich Rychlík took over the business, followed by his sons Jindřich and Alois. They exported their products throughout Europe and to the United States. The company existed until World War II.

Text: Dagmar Čechová

Photo: Pavel Krásenský