Instrument designed for locating bullets and other foreign material in bodies. An inscription on the lid of the box reads “ETABLISSEMENTS GAIFFE / COMPASS DE MR LE MEDECIN PRINCIPAL HIRTZ / POUR LA RECHERCHE DES PROJECTILES.” The form was invented in 1907 by E. J. Hirtz, a French medical officer and head of physiotherapy at a military hospital, and widely used during World War I. Ladislas Adolphe Gaiffe (1832-1887) was an important electrical instrument maker in Paris who began in business in 1856. He was succeeded by his son, G. Gaiffe. By the 1920, the firm was trading as Etablissements Gaiffe-Gallot & Pilon.
Ref: L. Ombrédanne and R. Ledoux-Lebard, Localization and Extraction of Projectiles (London, 1918), p. 214.
Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.
If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.