Display case of specimens of cinchona calisaya bark, England, 1850-1900

Display case of specimens of cinchona calisaya bark, England, 1850-1900

Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

Buy

License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

License

Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Specimens of cinchona calisaya bark, probably from Peru, in glazed case, of English commerce, Howard collection, 1850-1900

The display case (on the far left) shows samples of a species of cinchona bark known as cinchona calisaya, which comes from Peru. It was commercially grown in large amounts for the anti-malaria treatment quinine. These types were sold by English traders. The display cases are from the Howard Collection and were shown at a Wellcome exhibition in 1930, called the Tercentenary Cinchona Exhibition, celebrating the 300-year anniversary of the therapeutic uses of cinchona bark. The case is shown here with similar examples (A654756, A654757 and A654758).

The collection belonged to John Elliot Howard (1807-83). His father, Luke Howard, had established the first British factory to produce quinine in Stratford, east London, in 1823.

Details

Category:
Materia Medica & Pharmacology
Collection:
Sir Henry Wellcome's Museum Collection
Object Number:
A654755
Materials:
case, wood, case, glass and contents, bark
Measurements:
overall: 321 mm x 524 mm x 36 mm, 2.28 kg
type:
sample
credit:
Howards