The “Goutte de lait” (drop of milk) was started in Fécamp in 1894 by Léon Dufour, a doctor interested in public health. By the daily distribution of sterilised milk Dufour saved generations of infants and transformed the way in which mothers and babies were regarded. Most notably, through the introduction of feeding bottles, sterilizers, scales, health records and associated practices he established new models of social welfare. His understanding of the relationship between equipment, practice and attitude of mind was inspired by the study of a series of artefacts relating to the care of infants which he collected from the 1890s. In 1918 Dufour brought the collection together as the centrepiece of a Museum of Childhood thus summarizing his achievement as a doctor, social visionary and thinker.