{"id":12116,"date":"2016-04-22T07:37:38","date_gmt":"2016-04-22T12:37:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.library.duke.edu\/rubenstein\/?p=12116"},"modified":"2016-05-09T15:52:57","modified_gmt":"2016-05-09T20:52:57","slug":"lindsey-beal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.library.duke.edu\/rubenstein\/2016\/04\/22\/lindsey-beal\/","title":{"rendered":"Photographic Research on Obstetric and Gynecological Instruments"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Auvard
Auvard Weighted Speculum from the L. M. Draper Collection<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With generous assistance from the History of Medicine travel grant<\/a>, I traveled to Duke University to view and photograph historical obstetric and gynecological tools housed in Duke\u2019s History of Medicine Collections<\/a> at the Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.\u00a0 There I viewed various artifact collections<\/a> donated by practicing regional doctors, including the L. M. Draper Collection<\/a>, the George D. & Evelyn Wilbanks Collection<\/a>, and several anonymous collections.\u00a0 I also viewed anatomical lift-the-flap guide books, lift-the-flap anatomical fugitive sheets and the Trent Collection of Ivory Anatomical Manikins, all of which were used to teach medical procedures, including delivery.<\/p>\n

Having access to Duke\u2019s collection was an incredible experience.\u00a0 I treated it like a short artist residency.\u00a0 I set up my lights, a pop-up tent, my camera and a tripod in a study room within the library.\u00a0 Every morning, a cart was wheeled in with OB\/GYN tools, anatomy text books and glass slides. \u00a0It was exciting (and a little nerve-wracking), opening up boxes and not knowing their contents.\u00a0 For some items, I felt I was discovering the files for the first time.\u00a0 In a way I was: besides the archivists who received and catalogued them, some of the items had never been requested.\u00a0 I often felt as though I were in the medical field\u2014donning nitrile gloves, carefully removing the items from their boxes, gently lying them down on the fabric of my pop-up lighting tent, careful not to harm them in any way.\u00a0 I found myself photographing them as abstractions or as jewelry, a style of cataloguing unlike other projects I have photographed.<\/p>\n

\"Smellie-Style
Smellie-Style Obstetrical Forceps from the George & Evelyn Wilbanks Collection<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My work focuses on historical and contemporary women\u2019s lives and I am particularly interested in the past\u2019s technology and how it relates to today.\u00a0 I have previously done photographic projects on antique vibrators, social media and the practice of keeping a commonplace book and with this project, the history of labor and delivery technology.\u00a0 While the process of getting pregnant has changed with IVF and the location of delivery may have changed, the actual process of delivery has not changed.\u00a0 Although American society emphasizes new products & experiences, and the medical world uses recent technology & procedures, women continue to deliver only one of two ways\u2014vaginally or via Cesarean section.\u00a0 Prior to my arrival at Duke, I assumed the tools used in labor and delivery were harmful to the infants and delivering women.\u00a0 I also wondered how deadly labor actually was\u2014in fictionalized accounts in both books and screen, no female who delivered a newborn ever lived, and seldom the child.\u00a0 I expected antique tools to be brutal and different in appearance than today.\u00a0 It surprised me that many of the tools I photographed resembled contemporary tools, only with time\u2019s effect through rust or evident aging.<\/p>\n

My research at Duke is the beginning of both my project and into further research on the history of the OB\/GYN tools and their uses.\u00a0 Although in its early stages, I plan to study these tools\u2019 history, as well as their use & influence today.\u00a0 The final images may be printed as slides, emulating turn of the twentieth century magic-lantern plates or late-twentieth century educational slide shows.\u00a0 Whatever form these images take, I was particularly inspired by the anatomical lift-the flap books & broad sides and will create an artist book influenced by these interactive educational guides.\u00a0 I look forward to sharing future developments of this project. Thank you to everyone at Duke University\u2019s Rubenstein Library for their assistance during my stay.<\/p>\n

Post contributed by History of Medicine Travel Grant recipient Lindsey Beal. Beal is a photo-based artist and professor in Providence, Rhode Island.\u00a0 Her work and further information can be found at <\/em>lindseybeal.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With generous assistance from the History of Medicine travel grant, I traveled to Duke University to view and photograph historical obstetric and gynecological tools housed in Duke\u2019s History of Medicine Collections at the Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.\u00a0 There I viewed various artifact collections donated by practicing regional doctors, including the L. M. Draper … Continue reading Photographic Research on Obstetric and Gynecological Instruments<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":12121,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,41,551,11,83,40,26],"tags":[564,565,367],"coauthors":[652],"class_list":["post-12116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bingham","category-research","category-featured","category-from-our-collections","category-history-of-medicine","category-rl-scholars","category-grants","tag-history-of-medicine-2","tag-medical-artifacts","tag-travelgrants"],"yoast_head":"\nPhotographic Research on Obstetric and Gynecological Instruments - The Devil's Tale<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.library.duke.edu\/rubenstein\/2016\/04\/22\/lindsey-beal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Photographic Research on Obstetric and Gynecological Instruments - The Devil's Tale\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With generous assistance from the History of Medicine travel grant, I traveled to Duke University to view and photograph historical obstetric and gynecological tools housed in Duke\u2019s History of Medicine Collections at the Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.\u00a0 There I viewed various artifact collections donated by practicing regional doctors, including the L. 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