Vaccinator
date: label: date made
content: 1872
label: patent date
content: 1872-24-09
notes: label: Description
content: Patent model for John Zirbes, "Vaccinator," U.S. Patent 131,729 (Sept. 24, 1872). According to Zirbe's patent, he claims to have improved the vaccinator by simplifying its construction, making the case out of a single piece of metal. He used a "spring-ring or annular thumb piece" (the circular finger ring on the back of the device) from which come two "shanks." The shanks to which he refers are the upper and lower halves of the device body - note the seam running horizontally along the casing. The seam between these shanks allows the upper and lower halves to be separated via the trigger-lever, effectively 'cocking' the device open. When the halves snap back together (by force of the annular ring that unites them) the snapping action causes the needle (held by the top half) to snap down and into the socket (which is in the lower half), thus accomplishing the vaccinating action.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Massachusetts, Boston
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Medicine
label: See more items in
content: The Antibody Initiative
label: See more items in
content: Health & Medicine
label: See more items in
content: Antibody Initiative: Smallpox
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: MG.M-04316
label: catalog number
content: M-04316
label: accession number
content: 89797
label: patent number
content: 131,729
objectType: label: Object Name
content: biological
label: Object Name
content: vaccinator, patent model
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 3/8 in x 2 3/4 in x 1 5/8 in; .9525 cm x 6.985 cm x 4.1275 cm