Lot 210

All-Female Surgical Team Preparing Amputation, c.1900

Estimate: $50 - $400

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$500 $50
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$20,000 $2,500

This striking and uncommon photograph depicts an all-female surgical team assembled in a clinical operating room, likely within a teaching hospital or nursing school setting. Five women dressed in white surgical gowns and head coverings surround a patient positioned on an operating table, the exposed leg elevated and supported. One practitioner appears to steady the limb while another holds a surgical mallet, suggesting the preparation stage of a major procedure, likely an amputation. Surgical instruments—forceps, clamps, and trays—are carefully arranged within reach, reinforcing the clinical precision of the scene.

 

The composition reflects a transitional moment in medical history when women were increasingly entering professionalized roles in nursing and surgery. The coordinated activity and confident handling of instruments indicate formal training rather than a staged novelty image, making it a compelling document of early female medical practitioners at work.

 

Based on attire, equipment, and photographic quality, the image likely dates to circa 1900–1915. Overall condition is good, with light surface wear and minor tonal softness consistent with age.

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