Description

A rare pair of Smellie’s long-forceps with pelvic curve. The maker is Evans  working in London.The handles are ebony. William Smellie (1697-1763) is considered among the giants in the history of obstetrics, both as a teacher and as the inventor of important  obstetrical forcep, long and short-firm,  that were still in use during the early 19th-century. The pair on offer shows some light  evidence of use and the Evans name is incompletely struck: ” VANS & CO. LONDON” rather than “EVANS & CO.LONDON”  Overall, they are in very good condition for a 200-year-old instrument. Evans was started in 1676, by the blacksmith, John Evans. It operated under the Evans name until 1867, when it became Evans and Stevens, later (1874) Evans and Wormall.