1905. Large 8vo, pp. [iv], 426, [2] imprint; catalogue copiously illustrated throughout, with prices given; some light foxing and soiling; a few gutters exposed in places, but holding firm; in the original printed green card wrappers, book block a little shaken, head and tail of spine worn with slight loss, upper joint cracked but holding, with lower joint cracked at head, spine a little sunned, covers slightly creased and spotted, extremities a little dog-eared; still a good copy. A wonderful priced trade catalogue from the turn of the twentieth century, promoting a myriad of medical and surgical equipment as manufactured by the prize-winning instrument makers, the Rainal brothers, Léon and Jules, renowned in particular for making orthopaedic devices and corsets. The catalogue is divided into 29 sections covering a wide range of medical specialities, though it is the sections highlighting their numerous orthopaedic devices that are particularly striking - and in some cases slightly terrifying! The catalogue begins with a section on ‘bandages herniarires’, with detailed sections on physiological corsets, ‘mécanothérapie’, ‘ankylose’, ‘prosthèse’, ‘appareils pour malades et blessés’, equipment for the care of babies, including incubators, and concluding with a range of ENT instruments.
In 1899 the brothers published Le Bandage herniaire, a comprehensive account of the treatment of hernias, providing both an historical and present day discussion on the use of surgical trusses, including their own observations carried out over twenty-five years of private practice.