Seller Story: Dr. Henry Heimlich, Cincinnati, OH
Decades before he would introduce the world to the Heimlich Maneuver, the lifesaving technique responsible for saving countless lives, Dr. Henry Heimlich arrived at Camp Four in Inner Mongolia, China on June 4th, 1945, in the midst of World War II. A doctor in the U.S. Navy, he had volunteered to be part of a clandestine mission that was part of SACO, a private treaty between the United States and forces in China resistant to the Japanese occupation. He spent the next several months in the camp, tending to patients and training soldiers in basic medical practice. The mission was a tenuous and dangerous one, in close proximity to the Japanese occupation and adverse Chinese forces. Dr. Heimlich oversaw the treatment of numerous soldiers, villagers and outsiders at the camp, which is likely when he received many of these items from patients and dignitaries.
The late Dr. Heimlich’s autobiography, Heimlich’s Maneuvers, provides a riveting account of his work in Inner Mongolia. Camp Four was one of the more remote stations where the Americans were operating, and Dr. Heimlich was at a distinct medical disadvantage: “I saw illnesses that were far more advanced than they ever would have progressed and an array of ailments that had been virtually eliminated back home,” he recalls.
Many of the remarkable works in this sale were gifted during or acquired by Dr. Heimlich during this appointment and station near the Gobi Desert. The collection of SIno-Tibetan bronzes is emblematic of that regional iconography, as is the dragon robe. “I remember when I was little, carefully lifting the glass off of our coffee table that held these small treasures, and imagining the people who had given these things to my father as gifts,” says his daughter, Janet. “My understanding is that they were tokens of appreciation given by people whom he had medically treated. When I think about my father The Humanitarian, I don’t only think about his medical innovations, I also think about how he felt personally connected to so many individuals who owed their lives to his work.”
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
14K 0.38 CT Diamond Solitaire Necklace
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Hermès Early Issue "Skyros" Silk Twill Scarf 90
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
William Shatner Signed "Star Trek" Print
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
14K Pearl Drop Earrings
EBTH Columbus - Hilliard
Waterford "Prentiss" Crystal Candlesticks With Rectangular Waterford Clock
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
P. Fioritto Floral Oil Painting, 2012
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Christian Dior Navy Trotter Jacquard Zip Pouch
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Czech Barolac Style Frosted Glass Vase with Cherub and Grapes Motif
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Walter Stomps Abstract Geometric Acrylic Painting "Galactic Border No. 1"
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Farmside Amish Parcel-Ebonized and Elm Queen Bed Frame
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Mike Trout, Nolan Ryan, and More Graded Baseball Cards, 1990s-2010s
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Grey Iron Casting Co. "Queen" Cast Iron Miniature Reproduction Toy Stove
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
7'1 x 10'9 Hand-Knotted Persian Tabriz Area Rug
EBTH Columbus - Hilliard
Mahogany-Stained X-Back Armchair, Manner of Barbara Barry
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Chanel Faux Pearl Rope Length Necklace
EBTH Columbus - Hilliard
Don Hatfield Serigraph "The Sailboat," Late 20th Century
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Francine Wrap Shirt in Leather and Paolo Santini Leather Shirt with Siena Skirt
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
N. Ming Stylized Oil Portrait, 21st Century
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Fendi Zucca Logo Pattern Umbrella
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Death NYC Pop Art Graphic Print of Mickey Mouse, 2022
“He had an ability to relate to patients in a truly compassionate way,” says Janet. “A few times, I had the privilege to see Dad interact with patients and I was always struck by how warm he was with them. For example, Dad made unwavering eye contact. Sometimes, he’d pull over a chair over and sit down next to their bed so he didn’t have to look down on them. In the 1950’s, Dad was the first American to perform a complicated surgery that involved replacing the esophagus using the lining of the stomach. It allowed patients who hadn’t eaten solid foods for years to be able to swallow again. Dad was also the first physician to perform this operation on an infant, a baby named Guy Carpico. Dad was so concerned about the baby’s survival, he sometimes slept in the tiny patient’s hospital room. Before Guy’s first birthday, he could eat normally. Several years later, he wrote the forward to Dad’s memoir, Heimlich’s Maneuvers.”