Marks’ Artificial Leg with Rubber Foot

History

New York based artificial limb makers A. A. Marks were among the most successful international makers and distributors of artificial limbs in the nineteenth century. Their artificial legs with rubber feet simplified ankle joint manufacture and enabled a more lifelike gait. They were also sold to users in Britain. For more on the technological development of prostheses in the nineteenth century, see chapter 1 of Ryan Sweet’s free 2022 book Prosthetic Body Parts in Nineteenth-Century Literature and Culture.