Trepanation Set By Grangeret, The Emperor’s Cutler – Paris, Empire Period, Surgery

Antique trepanation kit from the Empire period.
This model is covered in dark leather and reinforced with brass fittings; it was intended for cranial surgery.
The interior, lined with green felt, still contains its original contents, including several specialized trepanation and surgical instruments, such as trepan bits, drill bits, and burrs, handles made of blackened or turned wood, a saw, and various accessories. Only one item is missing.

The lid still bears the original commercial label from the Grangeret firm: “À l’H Couronnée, 45 rue des Sts-Pères, next to the Hôpital de la Charité, in Paris. Grangeret, Cutler to His Majesty the Emperor, to the Naval and Colonial Hospitals, manufacturer of surgical instruments… Trephines, forceps, and all new instruments…”.

The case has an antique patina with signs of wear, crazing, and minor imperfections due to its age.
A representative collection of early 19th-century French surgical instruments.

Grangeret belongs to a dynasty of Parisian cutlers specializing in the manufacture of surgical instruments and fine cutlery. The firm was established on Rue des Saints-Pères, in the immediate vicinity of the Hôpital de la Charité, in the heart of a Parisian neighborhood where many manufacturers of medical instruments were based.
Pierre Grangeret was recognized as a master cutler in the 18th century and developed a product line intended for both the general public and medical practitioners and hospitals. His business was continued in the early 19th century by his successors, who maintained the firm’s reputation in the field of surgical instruments.

During the First Empire, Grangeret became a supplier to the Imperial Household and also worked for the Navy and Colonial hospitals. The company’s product labels specifically mention the manufacture of lancets, scalpels, razors, forceps, trephines, and various precision surgical instruments. This production thus covered both routine surgery and specialized procedures, notably trepanation, which was performed using a set of instruments designed to pierce and work on the skull.

The presence on this case of a label bearing the inscription “Cutler to His Majesty the Emperor, the Naval Hospitals, and the Colonies” serves as a dating clue and allows us to place the set in the context of the First Empire, in the early 19th century. The explicit mention of “trephines” on this same label directly corresponds to the case’s intended use. Kits of this type were designed to bring together, in a portable format, the various instruments needed by a surgeon, with each piece fitting into a custom compartment within the interior lining.