Article of the Week - number sixty-five - a bandage from the First World War

The St John's Ambulance and British Red Cross, using an idea from Switzerland that was popularised by a German field surgeon, Professor Johannes Friedrich von Esmarch, produced triangular bandages with illustrations printed onto the fabric in the early 20th Century. 

Adding images to the bandages showing their use provided useful guides to their versatility. In the piece in the studio collection, the black images on the cream coloured cotton cloth provide clear instructions for immobilising broken limbs and joints.