Original World War Two era US First Aid Packet - Carlisle Model - Sealed.
The Carlisle Model First-Aid Packet was named after and initially developed at the Carlisle Barracks Military Reservation in Pennsylvania in the early 1920s. It was also the birthplace of the "Medical Department Equipment Laboratory" which was established on October 1, 1920. First Aid Packets have a long history of use within the US Military, dating back to the pre-WWI era as the FIRST AID PACKET - U.S. ARMY.
The dressing, originally created in 1904 and later released in 1906, was provided to soldiers in a sealed brass container to safeguard the sterile bandage inside from gas attacks. Early versions of the First Aid kit were accessed by pulling a metal D-ring, which separated the packaging and revealed the paper-sealed bandage along with two large safety pins. The kit contained three separate items: two sterile bandages and two large safety pins. As medical knowledge advanced, it was discovered that the First Aid Packet was insufficient for treating battlefield casualties and injuries (despite being produced in the millions during World War 1). Even after the war, millions of First-Aid Packets - U.S. Army (manufactured by Bauer & Black, Chicago, U.S.A.) containing sterile dressings were available in their sealed brass Olive-Drab containers, carried by soldiers in their pistol or cartridge belts. With a general policy to use existing supplies first, the Medical Equipment Laboratory (part of the Medical Field Service School, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania) began studying ways to improve current medical equipment and potentially introduce new products. In 1922, research began that would eventually result in the new First-Aid Packet, U.S. Government, Carlisle Model (featuring a metal container and enhanced supplies). Production of the WWII US First Aid Packet Carlisle Model was delayed by the 1927 Depression and budget restrictions. Despite being well-known to US Army authorities, the "new" packet was not officially designated until it was eventually manufactured. The earliest versions of the Carlisle Bandage tin were made of sealed, pressed brass in rectangular containers, carefully designed to maintain the sterility of the contained bandage. These early packets did not include a Sulfanilamide Shaker Envelope, which was not introduced until the end of 1941. Additionally, they were painted with an Olive Drab #7 color. While containers made by the Medical Department workshops lacked department markings, those produced by Bauer & Black of Chicago displayed the manufacturer's name. More manufacturers were later awarded government contracts.
