Clear glass shop round, with engraved label "CHLOROFORM" and a paper label "BENZINE", British

The label etched on to this clear glass-stoppered bottle tells us it once held liquid chloroform. Chloroform was first used in the United Kingdom as an anaesthetic in 1847 by Scottish obstetrician James Young Simpson. It gradually began to replace ether, which could cause vomiting and lung problems. However, this trend was reversed when the potentially fatal toxicity of chloroform became apparent. Vapours of chloroform were inhaled from a face mask or a chloroform-soaked sponge in an inhaler.