The Kny-Scheerer Company, New York

The Kny-Scheerer catalogs of “Modern Hospital Supplies” in 1908 and “Surgical Instruments” of 1915 (and presumably the catalogs of the intervening years) contained pages advertising incubators for prematurely born children. The incubators displayed follow the Lion Incubator design exactly, and the description is identical to the description of the Lion Incubator in the souvenir booklets of the Maternité Lion and contemporary articles in the medical press.

In 1908, Kny-Scheerer was offering the incubators for rent along with installation and support services. By 1915, it appears that the focus had changed to outright sales.

The working assumption is that Kny-Scheerer manufactured these incubators in the US under license from Alexandre Lion, although Lion’s name is not mentioned anywhere in the catalog. The Kny-Scheerer incubators were used in many exhibitions and incubator sideshows in the US after 1901. Prior to that date, it appears that Martin Couney and others imported incubators built by Paul Altmann in Berlin, Germany, also manufactured under license from Alexandre Lion.

Last Updated on 06/08/26