The Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences acknowledges Australia’s First Nations Peoples as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the land and gives respect to the Elders – past and present – and through them to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are advised that the MAAS website contains a range of Indigenous Cultural Material. This includes artworks, artifacts, images and recordings of people who may have passed away, and other objects which may be culturally sensitive.
Gynaecological surgical instrument, Sims speculum, metal, made by Eschmann, England, United Kingdom, date unknown, used Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1960-1980
Made by Eschmann Equipment in England, 1960-1980.Summary
Object No.
2000/121/5Object Statement
Gynaecological surgical instrument, Sims speculum, metal, made by Eschmann, England, United Kingdom, date unknown, used Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1960-1980Physical Description
Gynaecological surgical instrument, Sims speculum, metal, made by Eschmann, England, United Kingdom, date unknown, used Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1960-1980.Sims speculum, a curved, 'u' shaped surgical instrument. This speculum was donated by Dr Geoffrey Davis from amongst the instruments that he used for termination of pregnancy (abortion) at his clinics.
Marks
Manufacturer's mark inscribed centre, impressed in metal surface "ESCHMANN. ENGLAND / STAINLESS".Short URL
https://ma.as/8451Dimensions
Width
35 mmDepth
85 mmProduction
Notes
This speculum is inscribed 'Eschmann England' suggesting that it was made by the company known as Eschmann Equipment.The Sims speculum was presumably used by Dr Geoffrey Davis in his clinic in the 1960s and 1970s.
Made
Eschmann Equipment England 1960-1980History
Notes
Originally trained as an anaesthetist, Dr Geoffrey Davis is well known for his involvement with the termination of pregnancy. As well as opening clinics in the 1960s in the Sydney suburbs of Potts Point and Arncliffe, Dr Davis has worked with Population Services International, the International Fertility Research Program, and the International Planned Parenthood Federation in developing countries such as Bangladesh and India. When he was close to retirement in 1995 Dr Davis lent items of his own equipment to the Powerhouse Museum for the 'Taking precautions' exhibition, and subsequently donated them to the museum's collection. The donation included this Sims speculum.The Sims speculum was presumably used by Dr Geoffrey Davis in his clinic in the 1960s and 1970s.
Used
Davis, Geoffrey 1960-1980Source
Credit Line
Gift of Dr Geoffrey DavisAcquisition Date
23 November 2000Cite this Object
Harvard
Gynaecological surgical instrument, Sims speculum, metal, made by Eschmann, England, United Kingdom, date unknown, used Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1960-1980 2016, Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, accessed 25 March 2019, <https://ma.as/8451>Wikipedia
{{cite web |url=https://ma.as/8451 |title=Gynaecological surgical instrument, Sims speculum, metal, made by Eschmann, England, United Kingdom, date unknown, used Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1960-1980 |author=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences |access-date=25 March 2019 |publisher=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, Australia}}
Copyright for the above image is held by MAAS and may be subject to third-party copyright restrictions. Please contact MAAS Rights and Permissions for information regarding reproduction, copyright and fees. Text is released under Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives licence
Submit an image license enquiry.Incomplete
This object record is currently incomplete. Other information may exist in a non-digital form. The Museum continues to update and add new research to collection records.