‘Appliances Mechanical Substitute for the Arms’ by Mr George Thomson, with notebook of writing practice
British, 1919
This invention was made for an amputee who had lost both arms at
the shoulders, an extremely rare injury even among the 41 000
British servicemen who lost one or more limbs during World War I.
These tools clipped onto a mechanical arm, which was then attached
to an ordinary dining table. The user could operate the arm and
tools with foot pedals, under the table, which drove a series of
levers.