A Late 19thC Osteological Human Part Skeleton & Skull in Pine Box, Supplied by Millikin & Lawley, London
SOLD
Origin: English
Period: Late Nineteenth Century
Provenance: Unknown
Date: c.1890
The Box:
Width: 22 inches
Depth: 9 inches
Height: 8.5 inches
Other measurements available on request
There was a young chap named Staunton Cressy,
Who’s death was a little bit messy,
He did to a nun
What he shouldn't have done,
And was punished by his big Aunt Bessie…
We here present Staunton, prepared by Millikin & Lawley of 165 Strand, London, the medical studies anatomical skeleton with part of an original paper label to the skull and full paper label to the lid of the box, bearing the spine, ribs, sternum, clavicle, scapula, half pelvis, femur, patella, tibia, fibula, complete wired bones of the foot, humerus, radius, ulna, and a complete wired bone of the hand, plus various loose bones and teeth.
Condition varies somewhat piece to piece, but the overall state would be considered fair to good. Apparent flaws are the hinged sprung jaw to the skull is loose, with a few teeth missing and loss to one eye socket, whilst the pine box lid is loose to one hinge with some minor losses. The two hinges that connect the cranium to the lower part of the skull are both in tact as is ninety percent of the stringing to the articulated bone structures such as the spine.
Part of the puzzle of Victorian medical study, this ensemble would have been used to study the structural idiosyncrasies of the human form in the Victorian age. Established in 1815, Millikin & Lawley, were an interesting firm that sold second-hand skeletons and surgical instruments and hired out magic lanterns and entertainers such as conjurors, ventriloquists and trained animals.
Staunton Cressy now proves a highly desirable catch for collectors, those in medicine, or simply folk that yearn for an authentic gothic, decorative or filmic effect. Just don’t mention the Nun. Or Bessie….in fact it’s better if you say nothing at all…
