04 May 2012

A young girl with two prosthetic legs (~1900)

Studio photograph of a young girl wearing a pair of artificial legs. The legs were manufactured by James Gillingham (1839-1924), a boot- and shoemaker based in Chard, Somerset. Gillingham first started making artificial limbs after a local man lost an arm firing a cannon for a celebratory salute in 1863. He then began making prostheses on a permanent basis and Chard eventually became a major centre of the British artificial limb industry. 
I can't help but wonder what her life must have been like. 

From Science and Society Picture Library.

3 comments:

  1. She looks pretty upbeat. Good for her!

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  2. Such an angelic face. Full of wonder and enthusiasm.

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  3. Seriously, those look like pretty kickin' prosthetics (if you'll excuse the pun). And she does look healthy...I wouldn't have noticed they were prosthetics.

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