Description

Six late 19th and early 20th-century probangs. Probangs  were used to remove foreign bodies that were lodged in the throat or esophagus. Numbers 1,2 and 6 have shafts made of a flexible natural material. Number 1 has German-silver mountings and when the collar is slid down folds in half. Number 4 is stamped “ARNOLD & SON” and with the broad arrow indicating that it was used in the British military. Nos 3 and 5 are two different version of R.P. McUlly’s US patent (No. 680,936) , which was issued on August 20,1901. The patent’s innovation  resided in the probang’s head being easily removable, which according McCully ” permits the use of the bristle-head only once, after which it may be thrown away and replaced by another”. Since bristle probangs were not easily sterilized this reduced the risk of  infection. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/da/42/91/4f521525df8f60/US680936.pdf

#1=$125.00

#2=$150.00

Numbers 3, 4, 5 and 6 have been sold.