The Lem-Blay (or Lem Blay) Clamp is a bell type clamp, similar in principle to the Gomco but quite different in construction. The name comes from its developers, Dr. Robert E. Blais and Mr. George U. LeMoine, who filed a US patent in 1941, which was granted in 1942. Presumably manufacture, by the Elbe company of 165 Parker Street, Lawrence, Mass. commenced after the war, since the manufacturer's leaflet mentions that "During the War Major Blais carried the instrument with him throughout his tour of duty in Europe". Quite why is not clear since, at least in the marketed version, it is only suitable for infant circumcisions.

Our illustrations come from an example sold at auction in October 2019, and purchased by contributor CircSteve. There is also an example in the Museum of Health Care in Kingston (Canada).

The clamp in its box. Steve reports that the two alternative bells are only a millimetre of so different in size, so it is clearly only intended for infant circumcisions.   Click the image to enlarge. Use the Back button of your browser to return to this page.

The instruction leaflet.
  Click any of the images to enlarge. Use the Back button of your browser to return to this page.


Acknowledgements

Thanks to regular correspondent AM for alerting us to the auction, to CircSteve for buying the item and submitting his report, and Arend for locating the Canadian example.

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