Original Items: Only One Available. A fateful conversation inspired the creation of Johnson & Johnson’s First Aid Kit, which was released in 1888. Aboard a train heading to Colorado for vacation, company founder Robert Wood Johnson struck up a conversation with the Denver & Rio Grande Railway’s chief surgeon. The doctor explained to Johnson the dangers of railroad construction and the lack of medical supplies to treat the unique industrial injuries that were often incurred great distances from hospitals. From this exchange, Johnson saw an opportunity to both advance the field of healthcare and build his young business. And from this modern need, the commercial First Aid Kit was born.

In 1913 the U.S. Army developed a medical belt to be used on the battlefield. The belt had ten pockets which contained a tourniquet, adhesive plaster, safety pins, iodine, gauze, field dressing, bandages, ammonia, pins and diagnosis tags. A canteen hanger and ax carrier were also a part of the belt, along with various other accessories.

But during WWI, it became evident that the medical belt design was not effective. It did not withstand the trials of war. Both the packaging and the contents were considered utterly useless in the field, and the medical belt was no longer used by the U.S. military.

By World War II, medical corpsmen wore just two medical pouches at the waist, which wouldn’t interfere with mobility – a lesson learned by the failure of the medical belt. Johnson & Johnson continued evolving the first aid kit for widespread use by every individual and industry.

As technology continues to advance, the contents of the medical kit continue to advance as well. But many of the original items have stood the test of time. Although tourniquets, dressings and other items have changed throughout the years, the general concept of the medical kit remains the same – to save lives.

The Items In This Kit
- Korean War Era US Navy Life Raft First Aid Kit: This kit would have also been used aboard Naval vessels as well as life rafts. There are tabs located on the bottom to secure the kit to a bulkhead.
- Two 4” Bandage compress still sealed in plastic.
- Two packs of Sulfadiazine Squibb and Sulfanilamide Squibb tablets, 24 in one and 5 packets in the other.
- 1 Triangular bandage, 40 inch, still sealed in plastic.
- One Tourniquet, still in box.
- One small battle dressing, Carlisle model.

The interior lid has the First aid hints, and notes that it’s made by Conray Products Co. The container is painted red with the original paint on top. 

The container measures 8 x 5 x 2¾”. This kit comes ready for further research and display.

Idiot Clause - the contents of this kit are pre-1960 manufacture and are NOT suitable for use. They are being sold as novelty collector pieces only.