AN IMPROVED PESSARY
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Gedge, of the Firm of John Gedge
and Son, of No. 11, Wellington Street, Strand, in the County of Middle-
sex, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED PESSARY."-A
communication from abroad by Louis Auguste Rigaux, of No. 39, Fau-
bourg Saint Martin. Paris, France.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Gedge
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
24th April 1865.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD GEDGE, of the Firm of John Gedge and Son, of No..11,
Wellington Street, Strand, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED PESSARY,"
(a communication to me from abroad by Louis Auguste Rigaux, of No. 39,
Faubourg Saint Martin, Paris, France) to be as follows:-
The advantages of the improved pessary, the subject of this Invention, are
very great, far from hindering the movements of the person using it it facilitates
them, gives complete relief from the pains of a wounded matrix, and may even
cause it to heal. It is composed of a cap or cup as shewn, Figures 1, 2, and 3.
of the accompanying Sheet of Drawing, forming part of this Provisional Speci-
fication. This cap or cup which may be made of wood, metal, or other suitable
material is pierced in the centre with a round or oval opening I, to permit the
passage of the urine, and at the point A (Figures 2 and 8) is a small rod or.
stem T of leather, caoutchouc, or other elastic material, having at its end a
screw thread, along which may be moved a washer R fixed by a nut E. In
using this apparatus it is introduced by the point B into the uterus, so as to

page_text: place it under the wound in the matrix, then on causing the washer to turn
until it comes in contact with the abdomen, the apparatus becomes fixed as
required for its proper action. If the apparatus is made of wood it should be
coated with max to make it not more perfectly
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Gedge in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 23rd October 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD GEDGE, of the Firm of John Gedge and Son, of No. 11, Wellington
Street, Strand, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, send greeting,
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-eighth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Edward Gedge, Her special licence that I, the said William Edward
Gedge, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
William Edward Gedge, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "AN IMPROVED
PESSARY," (a communication to me from abroad by Louis Auguste Rigaux,
of No. 39, Faubourg Saint Martin, Paris, France,) upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said William Edward Gedge, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of
their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of
the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward Gedge, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Sheet of Drawing hereunto annexed,
and forming part of this Specification, and to the figures and letters of refer-
ence placed thereon, Figure 1 being a top plan view of this improved pessary,
Figure 2 a side view, and Figure 3 a section at X, Y, Figure 1...

page_text: Surgical instrument makers have long endeavoured to construct an appa-
ratus which might either bring about the healing of wounds made in the
matrix, or lessen the sufferings of females thus hurt. Numerous pessarys
have been devised for this purpose, but none have hitherto fulfilled the neces-
sary requirements of this sort of apparatus. The pessary, the subject of this
Invention, is of an extreme simplicity, and gives the most satisfactory results,
it can be placed by the female without any difficulty, its use produces no
inconvenience or pain to the parts on which it rests, and it permits persons
wearing it to attend freely to their occupations. This pessary is composed
simply of a cap or cup, the shape of which is shewn in Figures 1, 2, and 3 of
the annexed Drawing, and which may be made of wood, metal, or any other
substance suitable to its construction. This cap is pierced in the centre by
an oval or round opening I, to permit the passage of the urine, and at the
point A (Figures 2 and 3) of the cap is a small stem T made of leather,
caoutchouc, or other elastic material, and carrying at its end a screw thread,
along which may move the washer R, to be secured in position by a nut. In
using this apparatus it is introduced into the uterus by the point B so as to
come immediately under the wound in the matrix, then on turning the
washer until it comes in contact with the abdomen the apparatus becomes
fixed as required for its proper action. The advantages of this apparatus are
very great, the movements of persons using it instead of being hindered are
facilitated, their sufferings are completely relieved, and even a cure may
result. When this apparatus is made of wood it should be coated with wax
to make it act more perfectly.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is carried into practical effect, I would here observe that
variations may be made in the size and shape of the constitutive parts of this
improved pessary without departure from the principle of its construction; and
claim is made to the exclusive use of a pessary made substantially on the
principle herein-before set forth and illustrated in the accompanying Sheet of
Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Gedge, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of October, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
W. E. GEDGE. (LS.)