Some of the plating has come off of the metal, and there is some oxidation; #2: moderate signs of use on the rim/lid of bottle; black discolouration on the lid; orange coloured rust on lever, approx. 0.3 cm; white deposit in the crack between the lever and lid; some air bubbles in the glass
Copy Type
Original
Reference Types
Book
Reference Comments
"Blue Henry--the Almost Forgotten Story of the Blue Glass Sputum Flask," Ivo Haamstra, Birmingham, U.K., Cortex Design, 2010
Research Facts
The impressed marks on the bottom (D.R.G.) stand for Deutsches Reich Gebrauchsmuster (German Reich Registered Design); the flask was used in the early 20th century as a means to reduce the spread of tuberculosis, then a common and deadly disease; patients kept the flask with them to collect sputum and, when full, burned the contents for safe disposal; this model was sometimes known as a Blue Henry, being made of cobalt blue glass.
Exhibit History
"When Medicine Met Science," Museum of Health Care, April 29, 2003 - 25 Jan 2017