This early portable otoscope was designed by John Brunton in 1865. Brunton was a Scottish GP, surgeon and obstetrician who practised for most of his life in London.

This instrument is made from brass. It has a tube with an internal perforated mirror that reflects light up the barrel of the instrument. Light was supplied from a candle or the sun and directed down the trumpet shaped protuberance. The doctor looked through the eyepiece at one end of the barrel while placing the cone shaped speculum into the patient’s ear, giving them a view of the eardrum.