Fine Swiss 18K gold minute repeater chronograph with register antique pocket
watch attributed to Meylan circa 1890.
White enamel dial with gold and blued steel hands and subsidiary dial for elapsed
minutes for the stop watch function.
Plain polish case with slide in the band to activate the repeater and button in the
crown for the chronograph. When activated, this watch chimes the exact time
using different chime tones to designate the hours, quarter hours, and minutes.
First quality nickel 32 jewel movement. A fine watch with loud clear
tome in particularly fine condition throughout.
This watch was the property of Frederic S. Dennis, M.D. Dr. Dennis established
the nation's first laboratory dedicated to medical research, the Carnegie
Laboratory, in 1895. Before Andrew Carnegie donated the funds for the lab,
Dr. Dennis had assured him that the new lab would focus on
problems of surgical wound healing. Ultimately, these studies led to the
introduction of Lister's methods into this country. Dr. W.J. Mayo called Dennis one
of the greatest surgeons produced in America.
New York City in the mid-nineteenth century was plagued by deteriorating urban health
and social conditions. Wretched sanitation and housing, occupational hazards, high
infant mortality, and major epidemics were among factors that led to an outcry for
public health reforms. Although remarkable advances in surgery were being made by
European doctors, Americans were slow to accept these new procedures. Antiseptic
methods were cumbersome and not yet widely accepted; surgery was still largely
restricted to amputations necessitated by gangrene or accidental injuries.
Frederic Shepard Dennis was a medical pioneer, innovative surgeon and leader in
hospital reform during this turbulent time. He was a highly regarded and prominent
physician who made major contributions to modern medical practices and public health reform.
He was honored at an exhibition at The New York Academy of Medicine Library in 1996.