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ca. 1900 “DER ERSTE VERBAND” IMPERIAL GERMAN ARMY
TRIANGULAR BANDAGE – VERY RARE EARLY FIRST AID ISSUE TO
THE INDIVIDUAL SOLDIER: Sufficiently rare
enough that most military collectors have never seen one
of these, this triangular bandage was recently found in
a small selection of World War One vintage Imperial
German Army artifacts. These early bandages were the
first such issue of an individual bandage or dressing to
each soldier. Prior to this issue, carrying bandages
and other first aid material was left solely to the
Medical Department personnel – corpsmen and doctors. I
showed photographs of this bandage to a senior,
knowledgeable collector in Germany and he indicated
bandages of this type, and of this vintage are quite
rare. Lacking the more durable wrapping or metal
canisters of later bandages, these packets lacked the
metal canister of the later and more familiar first aid
packets and hence were more susceptible to wear and the
elements, resulting in a far lower survival rate.
This “Erste Verband” or literally “First Bandage”, were
of the same format and style as those included in the
“First Help for Wounds” packet issued to US Army
soldiers between 1900 and 1906.
This triangle bandage bears the printed legend “Der
erste Verband; nach Professor Esmarch; Jetziger
alleiniger Hersteller; Gabriel Herose A.G.; Konstanz”.
Translated to English it reads: “The First Bandage;
according to Professor Esmarch; Presently exclusively
manufactured by; Gabriel Herose, Inc.; Konstanz,
Germany.” The notation to the left of the manufacturers
label is the name of the artist who executed the
drawings. Generally known as the “ESMARCH BANDAGE”
within the medical community, these bandages were named
for Dr. Johannes Friedrich August von Esmarch, however
credit for the design of these bandages seems to be
divided between Esmarch and Dr.
Mayor of
Lausanne, Switzerland, depending on the sources of
information.
The debate regarding to whom the design credit is owed
notwithstanding, there seems to be little disagreement
that credit for the adoption of this bandage and its
eventual wide spread use belongs to Esmarch. A native
of Germany (1823–1908), Dr. Esmarch had risen to Surgeon
General of the German Army during the Franco-Prussian
war. Considered one of the greatest authorities on
hospital management and military surgery, he introduced
first aid training for both military and civilian
personnel, and his handbooks of military surgical
techniques were regarded as the best in the field. In
his roll as Surgeon General, Esmarch insisted each
soldier carry this bandage as part of his standard
equipment issue.
The introduction of this bandage
by Dr. Esmarch is well documented by Colonel Vlas
Efstathis, OAM, CStJ, RFD, MB BS in his treatise, A
History of First Aid and Its Role in Armed Forces:
“Perhaps the
Prussian surgeon Friedrich Von Esmarch made the greatest
contribution to battlefield first aid. He was appointed
Surgeon General at the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian
War (1870) and introduced battlefield bandaging and
splinting techniques. These skills were later adopted by
the British military stretcher bearers. Von Esmarch
produced two manuals entitled
First aid on the
battlefield
and
First aid to
the injured.
Von Esmarch adopted the triangular bandage (diagonally
cut from a 40 cm square of calico) for use on the
battlefield. This bandage was invented by Dr Mayor of
Lausanne and is still in use today. The triangular
bandage carried by every Prussian soldier as part of his
first aid kit was imprinted with six drawings showing
its various applications.”
From the research I have done on these bandages, the
format of the illustrations, and the number of the
various applications of the bandage varied to some
degree, but all seem to include the six primary figures
seen on this bandage and on the US Army
Johnson and Johnson bandage of the same vintage
offered in separate listing in this same section, with
the bandage applied in the same manner for the various
applications. With the variance in different printings
by different medical suppliers, there were the addition
and deletion of other applications and treatments
resulting in the number of applications varying from 30
to 50, but again, all seem to include the same six basic
figures. All of the Esmarch style bandages consist of a
three sided piece of linen or cotton cloth, measuring
from 3 – 4 ½ feet along the bottom, and longest, edge,
and all were printed in black ink. Able to be folded in
multiple configurations, the triangular bandage served
to cover injuries on nearly any part of the body as well
as serve as an arm sling. It is worthy of note to
point out on this German Army version, the illustration
of the wounded man in the lower right hand corner shows
the use of the soldier's rifle as a splint for his leg.
In addition to this German Army bandage,
and the Johnson and Johnson bandage, bandages
manufactured by Seabury and Johnson in the U.S., and
Vernon and Company in England (known as the VERNAID
BANDAGE) have been noted.
This bandage, measuring 55” x 35” x 35”, is in excellent
condition. The material is overall very clean, with a
few scattered spots and no holes. All of the figures
are clear and legible. This early example of the basic
issue of first aid materials to the Imperial German Army
soldiers through World War One is a very rare piece of
medical equipment, and is believed by collectors of that
period of German military history to be quite rare.
Given the tremendous toll of German wounded during, and
the economic depressions following, both World
Wars, the survival rate of this early bandage is
understandably very small, and any stocks that survived
the wars were likely used up by the civilian population.
This is an excellent piece, and quite unusual, and
would never have to be upgraded – assuming you could
find another. $250
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