Silver metal Esmarch's ether drop bottle stopper consists of a single shaft ending with two curved tube spouts facing opposite directions, an 'S' shaped bend at the bottom and a piece of brown tapered cork located where the shaft would fit snugly into the ether bottle.
Silver metal Esmarch's ether drop bottle stopper consists of a single shaft ending with two curved tube spouts facing opposite directions, an 'S' shaped bend at the bottom and a piece of brown tapered cork located where the shaft would fit snugly into the ether bottle.
Number Of Parts
1
Dates
1890
1900
circa 1890-1900
Date Remarks
Date based on supplier's catalogue
Material
metal: silver
cork: brown
Permanent Location
Storage Room 0010
0010-F2-2
Temporary Location
On exhibit “The Century: Medical Innovations of the 1800s” at Museum of Health Care, 25 June 2017.
Dimension Notes
Length 11.1 cm x Width 4.0 cm x Depth 2.0 cm
Condition Remarks
Rubber with minor lifting at the bottom; spouts show evidence of minor red corrosion
Copy Type
Original
Reference Types
Internet
Book
Reference Comments
"Wikipedia" website; "Aloe's Catalogue of Superior Surgical Instruments, 6th Ed."St. Louis, Missouri. 1895; p. 21 (similar to model # 3003)
Research Facts
Ether was created and used during the 1840's to eliminate pain during surgery. American physician Crawford W. Long noticed that his friends felt no pain when they injured themselves while staggering around his office while under the influence of ether and then thought about its potential during surgery.