Topic: Bloodletting Cups with Rubber Bulbs

[Bernard C]

I have just acquired a small collection of five bloodletting cups with natural rubber bulbs, and would appreciate any information known about them.    From the ageing of the rubber bulbs I think they probably date from the early 20th Century or earlier.   A retired local doctor told me that he thought that bloodletting largely ceased in Britain around the time of the Great War.

See http://glassgallery.yobunny.org.uk/displayimage.php?pos=-18546 for five images each with click image to enlarge feature.

The rubber bulbs are of two types, with and without capacities.

The glass cups all have folded rims which are flared out to make a flat surface which, lubricated with a grease like Vaseline (introduced 1872), would make a good seal against the skin.   They are of two styles, onion shaped and bell jar shaped, probably indicating two different manufacturers.   My measurements below are the diameters of the outside of the rim.

Onion shaped:

1. 2oz bulb, rim 3¼" 83mm.
2. 1½oz bulb, rim 2¼" 58mm.

Bell jar shaped:

3. Unmarked bulb, probably 3oz, rim 3" 77mm.
4. 2oz bulb, rim 2½" 63mm.
5. Unmarked bulb, probably ¼oz, rim 1¼" 32mm.

Enlightenment sought please.

Bernard C. 

[Ivo]

Those would not be for bloodletting per se but for applying vacuum suction locally, as used in treating snake and wasp bites, boils and carbuncles.  I think that is why you have a set of increasing magnitude. It is a variant on the ventouse or cupping jar which was heated ovr an alcohol burner before set on the skin where is drew a vacuum. These act faster  - obviously.

[Bernard C]

Ivo — Grateful thanks, and most interesting.

As you would have expected, I looked these up on the Internet before posting this query, and found them reasonably universally described as either "bloodletting cups" or sometimes "suction bloodletting cups" to distinguish them from gravity fed bloodletting cups.   Hence my confident topic title.   In addition I had tentatively supposed that my tiny example was for use on babies or infants.

We all know of errors on the Internet that have been repeated so often that they become established as fact, becoming very difficult to correct.   Is this such an example?

One of my objectives in posting this topic was to see if the two shapes could be linked to particular manufacturers, having in mind firms like Wood Bros and Moncrieff, both of which were familiar names to my elderly retired doctor friend.

Bernard C. 

[Ivo]

Unable to say whodunnit. I have one Scottish cupping jar which is a bit of a deviant shape and does not look like yours. And then I have a large selection of French ones. Never seen the rubber ball type before - which may be one of tne applications whereby warmth would be a bad idea - such as infected areas. I think doctoring with vacuum went out in the late twenties and there are few doctors left who know specifically how to use it. I know that France was really big on the technique, and that there were several makers there. Also Altare supplied lots of medical glass to the UK, as did Belgium.

No photograph as I'm 3,500 km from base - maybe next week.

[Lustrousstone]

It seems that cupping is still practiced today. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupping_therapy
Natural rubber degrades pretty rapidly in my experience, so these may not be that old

[Paul S.]

the following link may be of interest, Bernard......      http://www.glassmessages.com/index.php/topic,43297.msg241453.html#msg241453

[rosieposie]

Not too dissimilar to these that are still available today Bernard.:

http://zhou-greatfortune.en.alibaba.com/product/374855492-210243911/Rubber_Bulb_Glass_Suction_Cups_Rubber_suction_glass_cupping_set.html

and:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Set-of-5-VACUUM-CUPS-for-facial-massage-CUPPING-GLASS-skincare-/310388025890

Rosie.

[NMott]

Cupping jars/cups. Used to create a suction on the skin. They were used for bloodletting as well as non-bloodletting treatments. http://www.healthtraditions.com.au/essays/the-subtle-cup.htm