Antique Brass Three-Blade Folding Bloodletting Fleam, Circa 1800s-1850s

Folding bloodletting fleam with three graduated steel blades pivoting from a brass guard. The practitioner set the chosen blade over a vein and struck it with a small stick or "blood stick" to make a quick, controlled cut, a technique used on people and livestock alike well into the 19th century. Shows wear, patina and surface rust consistent with age.