These lancets were owned and used by Edward Jenner, the Gloucestershire doctor who introduced vaccination to the world. In 1796 Jenner tested the common observation that milkmaids who had caught cowpox did not fall victim to smallpox. He did this by inserting pus from cowpox lesions on the hands of Sarah Nelmes into cuts made on the arm of a healthy boy. The boy developed cowpox, but remained healthy after a series of inoculations with smallpox pus.

Inv. A647698