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ca. 1900 “FIRST HELP FOR WOUNDS” TRIANGULAR
BANDAGE – VERY RARE EARLY US ARMY FIRST AID ISSUE TO THE
INDIVIDUAL SOLDIER: Sufficiently rare enough
that most US military collectors have never seen one of
these, this triangular bandage was a component of the
1900-1906 field dressing packets issued to the
individual soldier. These early packets 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. As well
documented in an article by William Phillips and Carter
Rila in the Military Collector and Historian, Vol.39,
No. 2, these triangular bandages, with two gauze
compresses and an antiseptic bandage, made up the “First
Help for Wounds” packet. 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 particular triangle bandage was manufactured by
Johnson and Johnson and along with the company
information is printed with the product name “ESMARCH
BANDAGE”. Named for Dr. Johannes Friedrich August von
Esmarch, 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 German Army 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.
In addition to this Johnson and Johnson
bandage, and the German Army bandage manufactured by
Herose, 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 51” x 36” x 36”, is in excellent
condition. The material is overall very clean, with one
small hole in the center of the “O” in FOR in the label
at the top of the bandage (can bee seen in the photos
below). The bandage retains the original creases from
being folded up in the packet. All of the figures are
clear and legible. This early example of the basic
issue of first aid materials to US Army soldiers is a
very rare piece of medical equipment, having been in use
for a very short period from 1900-1906, being soon
replaced by the more familiar 1907 First Aid Packets.
An excellent piece to display with a US Army Medical
equipment collection or a Philippine Insurrection, Boxer
Rebellion or early Border Cavalry grouping, this bandage
would never have to be upgraded. $100
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