Cylindrical glass bottle of quinine sulphate

Made:
1860-1910 in England
maker:
Howards & Sons
Cylindrical glass bottle with cork stopper and sealed with red

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Cylindrical glass bottle with cork stopper and sealed with red
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum, London

Cylindrical glass bottle with cork stopper and sealed with red wax, contains quinine sulphate, by Howard and Sons English, 1860-1910

This glass bottle contains quinine sulphate, an anti-malaria treatment.

As new European empires expanded, control of tropical diseases such as malaria was seen as crucial. Those sent out to seize new colonies needed to stay healthy. In India alone, the British government was using nine tons of quinine annually by 1850.

Quinine became a tool of 19th-century colonialism, as fighting malaria was also seen as symbolic - bringing 'civilisation' to what was considered savage and barbarous.

For Howard & Sons, the manufacture of quinine was their main enterprise for much of the 19th Century.

Details

Category:
Materia Medica & Pharmacology
Collection:
Sir Henry Wellcome's Museum Collection
Object Number:
A655014
Materials:
glass, cork and wax
Measurements:
overall: 137 mm 49 mm, .1 kg
type:
bottles
credit:
Loan, Wellcome Trust