Wine glass possibly used by Joseph Lister in his experiments on milk, Europe, 1870-1878

Wine glass with fake plaster contents and glass cover, possibly used as a culture glass by Joseph Lister in his experiment in Lactic fermentation

This wine glass may have been used by Joseph Lister (1827-1912) for his experiments on lactic fermentation. Lister studied fermentation because he thought it may give him information about human diseases, such as specific fevers, that are similar to fermentation. Lister chose to study lactic fermentation as it is simple to recognise (by the curdling of milk) and easily tested. Lactic fermentation is also rare so could not be caused accidentally by experimental error.

A model representation of lactic fermentation made from plaster has been placed in the glass to show what the contents may have looked like. It is shown here with a similar example with a dome cover (A641005).