A great deal of experimental work was needed, and until such time as he could acquire the necessary metal working skills of his own he had to use something other than metal. It had to be a substance that could be made soft enough to be malleable, but hard enough to be resonant and also reasonably permanent, so he used hard soap to shape and fashion a horn of his own design.
He finished up with at least one, if not more, prototype versions of his improved instruments, for from a manuscript written by someone now unknown, we learn that: in 1810 he laid before the Society of Arts and Manufacturers his most ingenious Improvements of the Trumpet, Bugle and French Horns, for which the Society, after a diligent Examination of their utility accorded him the highest and most valuable honour it had to bestow- the Gold Medal. He however declined accepting it and sold the Instruments to Mr. Percival, Music Seller, St. James’s Street, London, who obtained a patent for them and is now publishing them with great appreciation and applause.”
William Close was an avid reader; he was one of the first members of the Ulverston Library which was instituted 14 June 1797. The entrance fee was £1.1s.0d. (£1.05); The yearly subscription being 12s.0d.(60p). In his day, William Close was arguably the most important individual in the intellectual life of Furness. Considering his many talents it is amazing that he had time for his medical duties.
As a surgeon apothecary, Dr. Close would have treated a variety of injuries: from accidents sustained in the iron ore mines, burns caused by clothes catching fire or broken bones from falls, especially, off horses. The doctor’s work would involve bone setting or in the worst cases, amputations, (in the home, on the kitchen table). He would also have performed midwifery services; all without the help of anaesthesia or antiseptics. The following diseases would have been diagnosed and treated by Doctor Close: influenza, typhus, typhoid, scarlet fever, diphtheria, whooping cough, and measles; without the help of inoculation. Natural remedies, often in the form of pills, were prescribed. Blood letting was common. The major killer disease of the period was consumption (tuberculosis). * Harper Gaythorpe 1903 ** The Parish of St. Mary of Furness by Rev. T.G.Ward. 1979
To establish himself as a doctor and apothecary, the 22 year old Doctor Close ordered a stock of drugs and other essentials from John Carruthers of Lancaster who dispatched his order with the following invoice: A pint wedgwood mortar and pestle, 1 lb. powdered peruvian barke best, 1 groce vial corks, 4 oz. jalap root genuine, ½ oz. vials assorted, ½ lb. aromatic confection and pot, 2 oz. crude opium, 3 pints damask rose water and bottle. The bill for these items totalled £8.11s.7d.( £8.58p). The goods were sent on the Cross Sands route to Ulverston nd delivered to Dalton, by John Naylor, the carrier. The Furness Railway was nearly 50 years away.
He finished up with at least one, if not more, prototype versions of his improved instruments, for from a manuscript written by someone now unknown, we learn that: in 1810 he laid before the Society of Arts and Manufacturers his most ingenious Improvements of the Trumpet, Bugle and French Horns, for which the Society, after a diligent Examination of their utility accorded him the highest and most valuable honour it had to bestow-
William Close was an avid reader; he was one of the first members of the Ulverston Library which was instituted 14 June 1797. The entrance fee was £1.1s.0d. (£1.05); The yearly subscription being 12s.0d.(60p). In his day, William Close was arguably the most important individual in the intellectual life of Furness. Considering his many talents it is amazing that he had time for his medical duties.
As a surgeon apothecary, Dr. Close would have treated a variety of injuries: from accidents sustained in the iron ore mines, burns caused by clothes catching fire or broken bones from falls, especially, off horses. The doctor’s work would involve bone setting or in the worst cases, amputations, (in the home, on the kitchen table). He would also have performed midwifery services; all without the help of anaesthesia or antiseptics. The following diseases would have been diagnosed and treated by Doctor Close: influenza, typhus, typhoid, scarlet fever, diphtheria, whooping cough, and measles; without the help of inoculation. Natural remedies, often in the form of pills, were prescribed. Blood letting was common. The major killer disease of the period was consumption (tuberculosis). * Harper Gaythorpe 1903 ** The Parish of St. Mary of Furness by Rev. T.G.Ward. 1979
To establish himself as a doctor and apothecary, the 22 year old Doctor Close ordered a stock of drugs and other essentials from John Carruthers of Lancaster who dispatched his order with the following invoice: A pint wedgwood mortar and pestle, 1 lb. powdered peruvian barke best, 1 groce vial corks, 4 oz. jalap root genuine, ½ oz. vials assorted, ½ lb. aromatic confection and pot, 2 oz. crude opium, 3 pints damask rose water and bottle. The bill for these items totalled £8.11s.7d.( £8.58p). The goods were sent on the Cross Sands route to Ulverston nd delivered to Dalton, by John Naylor, the carrier. The Furness Railway was nearly 50 years away.
William Atkinson, steward to her Grace the Duchess of Buccleuch, was sent a bill for £1.0.0d for medicines prescribed by Doctor Close in 1808. *
*Harper Gaythorpe
The prescription was as follows: mixtures for effervescing draughts, two blister plasters, aetherous embrocations, two warm plasters, and a box of tonic pills. In 1808 another bill amounted to £2.0.0d for eight pill prescriptions. When this account was settled Dr. Close sent the following receipt to William Atkinson:
“7 November 1809, Received four guineas (£4.4s.0d) in discharge of this bill. W. Close”. If the bill was moderate, it was customary for the patient to pay more than the required amount. In this case the “tip” doubled the original charge. From 1811 onwards Dr. Close had very poor health, suffering from a pulmonary complaint. In a letter to Charles Taylor, M.D. Secretary to the Arts Society, he wrote:
*Harper Gaythorpe
The prescription was as follows: mixtures for effervescing draughts, two blister plasters, aetherous embrocations, two warm plasters, and a box of tonic pills. In 1808 another bill amounted to £2.0.0d for eight pill prescriptions. When this account was settled Dr. Close sent the following receipt to William Atkinson:
“7 November 1809, Received four guineas (£4.4s.0d) in discharge of this bill. W. Close”. If the bill was moderate, it was customary for the patient to pay more than the required amount. In this case the “tip” doubled the original charge. From 1811 onwards Dr. Close had very poor health, suffering from a pulmonary complaint. In a letter to Charles Taylor, M.D. Secretary to the Arts Society, he wrote:
