Antique military Opthalmic Surgeons instrument case dating from the late 19th century. The case is leather bound wood with a leather handle and in very good condition as it sits in a canvas case, the canvas shows wear at the corners. The case has two keys, both original and functioning. The set was supplied by Weiss & Son and most of the instruments bear their name, there are 89 different instruments. The case has the gilt stamped military broad arrow, John Weiss & Son were the surgical instrument supplier of choice to the British Army.
 
The case is velvet lined and has several sections, the inside lid folds down to reveal a leather working surface, in the base the top tray lifts and below we firstly see various recesses for some on the larger instruments including a miniature leather cased probe by Down Brothers as well as needles and ligatures still in their original packaging. In the centre two catches release a weighted fold up door to access the array of instruments below, the collection being almost complete.
 
The case measures 60 x 24.5cm (23.62" x 9.65").
 
John Weiss & Son were London-based surgical instrument makers, founded in 1787 by John Weiss, upon his move to London from Germany. Originally trained as a cutler, as was his father and great grandfather, Weiss quickly moved into the manufacture of surgical instruments. In 1831, Frederick Foveaux Weiss joined his father firm, henceforth known as ‘John Weiss & Son’ taking over completely on his father’s death on Christmas Day 1843. The quality and reliability of John Weiss instruments lead to them becoming the supplier of choice to the British Army with the result that John Weiss instruments travelled all around the globe.
 
This is a very rare and high quality set in exceptional condition. Surgical items were manufactured without regard to cost and made in necessarily small numbers and so quality was always paramount.