Ever wonder how medical tools began and how they evolved? If so, you may want to visit Dr. Bob Kravetz’s museum collection of antique medical pieces in the lobby of the Phoenix Baptist Hospital.
When you first walk in and see the two wall-sized cases that the items call home, you may think you’re in the wrong place – but don’t stop! Walk over and take a look at the dates and histories that Kravetz has included for your perusal. Kravetz and his wife, Nancy, moved to Phoenix with their three sons in 1962 and joined Beth El Congregation. Currently he serves on the board of the Arizona Jewish Historical Society. His collection combines his love of history and medicine. Some of the pieces date back to the late 1700s! The stories behind the various tools are as interesting as the story about how the collection came into existence. Kravetz loves to relate that it all started with a trip to his wife Nancy’s hometown near Boston in 1970. The town of Newportbury Port was established in the 1600s, and Kravetz stopped by a local hospital to see if they had any of the very old drugs. The staff pointed him in the direction of a nearby drugstore that opened in 1845.
“Believe it or not, in 132 years there had only been three druggists!I walked into a room that had never left the past. I bought it all – 6,000 pounds of medical history! From there it became an endless quest. I even owned an antique store that my father ran for a year that strictly housed some of these pieces,” says Kravetz.
When asked if he had any favorites among the gamut of tools, Kravetz says he’d have a hard time narrowing it down from his 1,500 major pieces, but two dozen stood out. The most historical ones though provided the best stories to share: His mother-in-law once stored pencils in a Dutch Delftware medical jar, he has a Revolutionary War era drug chest that belonged to George Washington and he is the proud owner of a jar from Benjamin Rush (a signatory of the Declaration of Independence) once used to store leeches. But what about some of the other interesting objects you might see? An ivory doll that is a perfect carving of a well-endowed naked woman was used in China in the days when women could not go to a doctor. Her husband would go and point out the spots on the doll and describe the pain/discomfort his wife had – that’s how the woman would be diagnosed. There are also urological instruments dating back more than 2,000 years and delivery forceps from the 1600s.
Today, many of these tools have been refined, but according to Kravetz, “they are basically the same. My main criterion for purchasing was how high was the quality.” Although people might laugh at the thought behind some of these instruments today, “there’s a buyer for almost anything now or from the past,” says Kravetz. “For a while, it may have been the first Viagra: in quackery, some men bought an electric belt that was supposed to ensure their being more potent.”
Of course, Kravetz also has pieces in his museum that may have worked and still have merits in helping people today. “A lot of medicines come originally from herbs. I have a collection of digitalis teas. Of course, how would you know what was the correct dose? One dunk or two? Once or twice daily? Still herbs are a great source of help in many drugs today.”
Kravetz found many pieces of his collection in various parts of the world while vacationing with his wife. “I also love flea markets. Europe has some of the most amazing items that I really had to talk my way into being able to carry back home. People will sell anything. I found the most interesting enema device in France. The fun is all in the hunt!”
Kravetz retired from practice 15 years ago at 65, but still teaches and maintains an office at the Phoenix Baptist Hospital. Presently, besides the hospital lobby and a few smaller cabinets on several floors, Kravetz says he has a small grouping of tuberculosis tools at the Heard Museum downtown.
“I’ve long ago stopped buying pieces, but I’m donating them to the medical school. If someone is interested in starting a collection like this, start by searching online. I love being a mentor or even a muse. I love to encourage people to collect and save these items from the past,” says Kravetz. “Remember this, we learn from where we’ve been. If you don’t know about the past, you don’t know where you are going. History always repeats itself.”
If anyone is interested in finding out more about Kravetz’s collection, contact him at bob@brownies.com
