Lloyd T. Brown Collection, 1880-1898. WAM 13255.001-.006A, .006B, .007

Lloyd T. Brown Collection, 1880-1898. WAM 13255.001-.006A, .006B, .007

Orthopedics

Braces

Foot deformities

Brown, Lloyd Thornton, 1880-1961

Bradford, Edward H. (Edward Hickling), 1848-1926

Lloyd Thornton Brown was born in Worcester, Massachusetts on August 20, 1880, to Edwin and Marianna Brown. He was born with a club foot, which was treated through orthopedic braces, tendon surgery, and eventually osteotomy. This inspired him to join the medical profession and eventually become an osteological surgeon himself. He graduated with an A.B. from Harvard College in 1903 and an M.D. from Harvard Medical School in 1907. After graduating, he became a surgical intern at the Massachusetts General Hospital from 1907-1908. He then practiced at Children’s Hospital and Faulkner Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, and joined the faculty at Harvard Medical School. During this time he became an orthopedic surgeon with a specialty in chronic diseases. He was president of the Board of Directors of the Robert Breck Brigham Hospital from 1933 to 1951, at which point he retired to live a less strenuous life. While he was an intern at Massachusetts General Hospital, Brown assisted at the hospital’s first direct blood transfusion from donor to patient. Brown authored many articles throughout his lifetime, covering a wide range of topics in osteology. He wrote the book “Posture and the Pretubercular Child” in 1926. He co-authored the book “Body Mechanics in the Study and Treatment of Disease” in 1935 with Joel E. Goldthwait, Loring T. Swaim, and John G. Kuhns. Lloyd Thornton Brown died at his home in Harvard, Massachusetts on December 13, 1961.

This set of child's foot braces was made between 1880-1898 by Dr. Edward Hickling Bradford for Lloyd T. Brown. The majority of the braces were used by Brown from infancy until he was six years old. The final brace was made when he was 18 and was worn after his final foot surgery.