An original Carl Baunscheidt Lebenswecker as distributed by F H Droz in America for the common mid to late 19th century practice of Baunscheidtism.

The theory was that rubbing the skin with toxic oils and piercing it with the Lebenswecker would produce a counter irritation which would divert the bodies attention away from illness and infection and a host of other complaints and so doing restore health. This is not one of the counterfeits which the public were warned to avoid, but the original German instrument as confirmed by the presence of a “B” (for Baunscheidt) printed on the head of needles. It is marked on the ebony stem and also on the horn needle cover with the sign of a British patent crown and under this “Patent Baunscheidt Endenich Bonn”. It comes with its original box and label listing the conditions suitable for treatment in English and German.

This instrument is the same one illustrated and referred to in a definitive work on the Lebenswecker published by Prof Dirk Spennemann

• From the Phisick collection