Prosthetic Arm

Prosthetic Arm

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Description
An inscription on this prosthetic arm reads “CARNES ARTIFICIAL LIMB CO. / KANSAS CITY, MO., U.S.A.” with four patent dates from 1904 to 1922. William T. Carnes was a Pennsylvania machinist who, having lost his left arm in a machine accident in 1902, and finding fault with the artificial limbs on the market, decided to design and manufacture better ones. J. P. Prescott was a Kansas City businessman who lost several limbs in an elevator accident in 1908. The two men met soon thereafter and established the Carnes Artificial Limb Co.
Ref: Robert McNeill, “Worker Loses His Arm; Makes New Mechanical One,” Chicago Tribune (Sept. 1, 1907), p. F6.
J. L. Morgan, “Factory Run By Crippled Men,” The Technical World Magazine 16 (1911): 710-711.
“‘Cripple Factory’ is the Queerest Workshop,” The Day Book (July 31, 1912), pp. 22-23.
Location
Currently not on view
Object Name
arm, prosthetic
Measurements
overall: 85 cm x 16 cm x 13 cm; 33 15/32 in x 6 5/16 in x 5 1/8 in
ID Number
1979.0648.20
accession number
1979.0648
catalog number
1979.0648.20
Credit Line
Veterans Administration
See more items in
Medicine and Science: Medicine, Prostheses
Data Source
National Museum of American History
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