Surgeon's name plate, brass, engraved "Mr Welsh, Surgeon", English, 1830-1890

During the 1800s, the reputation of surgery, and by extension surgeons, improved significantly thanks to innovations in antisepsis, anaesthesia and the development of surgical specialities beyond the traditional fractures and amputations. The founding of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1797 also helped to improve the surgeon’s social standing.

This brass nameplate would have been screwed on to the door of a surgeon’s consulting room.