A set of thumb lancets in their original 18th century leather case.

A fine example of three matching tortoise shell thumb lancets with steel and brass rivets in their embossed and highly decorated leather case. The blades are marked with the makers crown over an asterisk and the initial ET which may have been the owner’s initials. These would have been carried in the pocket of a travelling surgeon and used for the (largely indiscriminate) bleeding of unwell patients; a practice considered mainstream medicine which was held in much favour over the 18th and 19th centuries.

• From the Phisick collection