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Category: Medicine Chest
Estimated Date: 1850
Name: Medical Chest
Manufacturer: D. Stewart (Nathan Starkey )

Description: 9.5“x 10.5“x 7” mahogany cabinet with drawers which open to reveal shelf. Poison cabinet in rear contains four pontilled bottles. Stewart label on cover has been pasted over original mnfr. Although the visible label is D. Stewart, there is a small portion in the lower left corner worn off under which can be seen the label of Nathan Starkey as shown in the last image. This suggests that although most medical chests were imported from England, this one (according to Dr. Mark Fortini) was very likely manufactured by Nathan Starkey in Philadelphia around 1850. 4 original pontilled bottles in main cabinet. 5 of 12 in doors. 3 original. Handwritten label says C. Winslow, M.D. Pharmacist. 2 drawers contain replacement wts and scales. Letter of Winslow’s life that was obtained from his granddaughter is in the chest.She discovered that I owned the chest when her granddaughter who worked at the Maryland Historical Society received a letter from me inquiring about Dr. Winslow. His son was a doctor as well. According to her note Caleb Winslow received his MD from the University of Pennsylvania in 1849. He graduated Haverford College in 1842, which was previously the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy (thus his designation pharmacist). He practiced in North Carolina from 1849 to 1870, then moved to Baltimore. He took over the practice of his deceased brother Dr. John Randolph Winslow. He was blocked from going into surgery by “colleagues” and practiced general medicine and obstetrics. He retired in 1890 and died in Baltimore in June of 1895. He is said to have operated on 100 cases of bladder stone with only one death prior to coming to Baltimore. He also served as an examiner in Surgery on the original board of medical examiners of North Carolina. His biography (slightly different from his granddaughter’s version) can be found in Cordell, E.F. The Medical Annals of Maryland 1903.

Reference 1: 94

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