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Journal of Design History 2001 14(4):307-325; doi:10.1093/jdh/14.4.307
© 2001 by Design History Society
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Better Legs: Artificial Limbs for British Veterans of the First World War

Mary Guyatt

Victoria and Albert Museum


  Abstract

During and immediately after the First World War there were unprecedented developments in the design of artificial limbs in Britain This study examines the two most signigicant innovations of introduction of greater standaradization in the manufacturing process and the sudden ascendance of a metal artificial limb to rival the traditional wooden leg With unterests ranging from the established makers of wooden legs to the one tiny manufacturer of metal limbs, from the British government adn its Ministry of Pensions to the huge body of amputee ex-servicemen, these new technologies were received with equal measures of scepticism and enthusiasm Thus study follows the national debate that led to the eventual emergence of a clear market-leader in the form of the Desoutter Bros metal leg.

Key Words: First World War • human body • metals • prosthetics • standardization • technology


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