Surgeon's Field Desk and Kit c. 1941

Eva Perry made this drawing of a Surgeon's Field Desk and Kit with graphite and colored pencil. It is a detailed rendering of an object designed for mobility, but also for the kind of careful organization and record-keeping required by medical institutions. It reminds us that the individual work of surgeons happened in a larger network of hospitals and the military. Perry worked for the Index of American Design, a New Deal project that documented artifacts of American material culture. This drawing helps preserve the memory of now-obsolete technologies. It implicitly asks us to consider how our own era will be seen by future generations. Examining such artifacts with an eye to social and institutional history requires us to consult archives, libraries, and period publications, seeking the meanings that are not immediately apparent.