Prosthetic Hand

(1999-607)

Date: 1918

Dimensions: L: 195 mm  W: 115 mm  D: 420 mm

Materials: Certalmid, metal, paint 

Object Description: 

Hobbs, left mechanical hand. Linked index and middle fingers articulated at middle joint. Other fingers and the opposed thumb are rigid. Round wrist. Bowden-type cable routed centrally through wrist. Patent specimen 1918. The hand was made by a man named Hobbs, a contractor employed at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Roehampton, England. This institution was established in 1915 to deal with the growing number of amputees returning from fighting the First World War.

Condition:

Interior of hand is delaminating on its surfaces. Hand is likely composed of certalmid, a combination of certus glue, muslin and celluloid developed during World War I.

Treatment Performed:

Interior Hand was consolidated with Klucel G 0.25% (w/v in IMS) using cotton swabs.movement.