Union Pacific Railroad Emergency Medical Packages Circa 1905

Union Pacific Railroad Emergency Medical Packages Circa 1905

Two emergency medical packages for the Union Pacific Railroad, which were designed by A.F. Jonas, the railroads chief surgeon.

One package is an antiseptic pad and was manufactured by Johnson and Johnson.

The other package is Picric Acid for the treatment of burns. A.F. Jonas introduced this medical package to the main accident box kit in 1903. Picric acid is chemically similar to TNT and was also used for explosives at one point in time. For burn gauze, a 1% solution of picric acid was added to the cotton and dried to leave a picric acid coating. For burns, this gauze was applied and water was used to moisten the gauze.

Dimensions: 3 ½” by 2 ¼” for both

Condition (8.5/10) Good Overall. Both packages have not been opened. Light edge wear on both and the paper does not have any rips.

Picric acid is stable at low concentrations and does not pose a risk.