Ivory Points

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Various vaccination objects from the Medicine Collections
From the online exhibition 'Whatever Happened to Polio?'

Object Details

maker

unknown

Description

Wooden box of ivory points used for smallpox vaccination. These resemble the points used by Edward Jenner (1749-1823), the British physician who, in the 1790s, successfully tested the idea that an attack of cowpox, a milder form of smallpox, gave immunity to smallpox.

Location

Currently not on view

Credit Line

Gift of the City of New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

date made

ca 1870 - 1905

ID Number

2017.0184.073

accession number

2017.0184

catalog number

2017.0184.073

Object Name

biological

vaccinator, points

public health

Physical Description

ivory (overall material)

wood (container material)

Measurements

overall, wooden box: 2 3/8 in x 7 3/8 in x 5 3/8 in; 6.0325 cm x 18.7325 cm x 13.6525 cm

overall, small vaccination point: 1 1/2 in x 1/4 in; x 3.81 cm x .635 cm

overall, larger stick: 1/8 in x 3 1/8 in x 1/4 in; .3175 cm x 7.9375 cm x .635 cm

overall, smallpox vaccine kit box: 1/2 in x 1/2 in x 3 1/4 in; 1.27 cm x 1.27 cm x 8.255 cm

See more items in

Medicine and Science: Medicine

The Antibody Initiative

Health & Medicine

Antibody Initiative: Smallpox

Antibody Initiative: New York City Public Health Collections

Data Source

National Museum of American History

Metadata Usage

CC0

Link to Original Record

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746b3-8b9b-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record ID

nmah_722405