A 19TH CENTURY FRENCH EBONY STETHOSCOPE circa 1860, turned from a solid piece, of trumpet form with a wide base and the top with monaural listening hole, 17.5cm high

The stethoscope was invented in France in 1816 by René Laennec at the Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital in Paris. It consisted of a wooden tube and was monaural. Laennec invented the stethoscope because he was not comfortable placing his ear directly onto a woman's chest to listen to her heart.