Ledger and sketchbook of an orthopedic appliance maker, 1884-1888.

1 volume : illustrated ; 34 cm

English

In English.

Purchased 2017.

Open for research.

F. H. Cross was born in Richland, Oswego County, New York where he remained for most of his life. He enlisted in the army in 1862 and served in the Civil War. In the 1880s his address was listed as Pulaski, New York, a nearby town north of Syracuse. Cross designed and crafted made-to-order prosthetics and braces mainly for the legs of his patients. He was known as an excellent and highly innovative "surgical appliance maker." He had an office for patients and also traveled as to meet and measure patients. In some Syracuse city directories, he was listed as Dr. F. H. Cross, though there was no indication that he had a medical degree. He married Delia G. Cross in 1870.

Ledger book with an index for names and numbered pages. On the inside front cover are pasted 11 newspaper clippings dated 1884-1888 attesting to the quality of Cross's work. The volume described prosthetics Cross designed and made from 1885 to 1887. Among the 28 named patients, 16 were children. The oldest patient was 49. The entries supply the patients' names, addresses, and their medical history related to their physical difficulty (club foot, inflammed knee joint, bowed legs, uneven legs, poliomyelitis, weak ankles and knees, "spinal derangement," etc.) The volume contains Cross's scale diagrams of the apparatus that he crafted. He provided the measurements of each piece and how the pieces fit together. A wide variety of matterials was used including severral different metals, wires, screws, rivets, springs, leather, rubber, chamois, silk, and other fabrics. Also noted was the time required to make the aparatus, the price he charged, and how well the apparatus worked for the patient. There are two photographs of his prosthetics. Pages after page 41 are blank.

July 10, 2017