Sir James Reid's medicine chest, England, 1881-1923

Sir James Reid's medicine chest, England, 1881-1923 Sir James Reid's medicine chest, England, 1881-1923 Sir James Reid's medicine chest, England, 1881-1923 Sir James Reid's medicine chest, England, 1881-1923

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

Buy this image as a print 

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

License

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

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

Buy this image as a print 

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

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

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

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

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

Medicine chest by Burroughs Wellcome, owned by Sir James Reid, physician to Queen Victoria from 1881 until her death.

Sir James Reid (1849-1923) was personal physician to Queen Victoria from 1881 until her death in 1901. The leather chest contains a range of medication, including opium-based painkillers, laxatives and Dover’s powders, which were a remedy for colds.

The drugs and medicine chest were made by Burroughs, Wellcome and Co, who supplied a wide range of medicine chests and first aid kits often to influential people and explorers in a shrewd attempt to promote the product. It is pictured here with another Burroughs, Wellcome & Co chest (1981-1008).

Details

Category:
Materia Medica & Pharmacology
Collection:
Sir Henry Wellcome's Museum Collection
Object Number:
1981-1010
Materials:
venner, leather and wood
Measurements:
overall: 140 mm x 350 mm x 170 mm, 5.99kg
type:
medicine chest
credit:
On loan from the Wellcome Trust

Parts

Glass, circle based bottle, to contain tablets of Lead and Opium Lotion

Glass, circle based bottle, to contain tablets of Lead and Opium Lotion

Glass, circle based bottle with cork stopper covered in chamois leather. Paper label around bottle. To contain Soloid brand of tablets of Lead and Opium Lotion. Soloids are dissolved in water to make the lotion.

Materials:
opium , lead (metal) , glass , cork , leather and paper (fibre product)
Object Number:
1981-1010 Pt1
type:
bottle
Glass bottle with leather covered lid, containing Chlorodyne. 105 mm x 37 mm x 37 mm, label reads, 'CHLORODYNE'

Glass bottle with leather covered lid, containing Chlorodyne. 105 mm x 37 mm x 37 mm, label reads, 'CHLORODYNE'

Glass bottle with leather covering containing Chlorodyne (morphine and chloroform). 105 mm x 37 mm x 37 mm, 121g. Label reads, ' CHLORODYNE/ For Coughs, Colds, Bronchitis, Neuralgia,/ Dysentery, Cholera, Diarrhoea/...' Prepared by Hooper and Company, London, 1881-1923.

Measurements:
overall: 105 mm x 37 mm x 37 mm, 121g
Materials:
complete , glass , chamois , chloroform and morphine
Object Number:
1981-1010 Pt2
type:
bottle and morphine
Glass phial with cork stopper of Tabloid brand 5 gr. Aromatic Chalk Powder with Opium tablets. 112 mm x 20 mm diameter

Glass phial with cork stopper of Tabloid brand 5 gr. Aromatic Chalk Powder with Opium tablets. 112 mm x 20 mm diameter

Glass phial with cork stopper of Tabloid brand 5 gr. Aromatic Chalk Powder with Opium tablets. 112 mm x 20 mm diameter, 44 g. Made by Burroughs, Wellcome and Co., London, 1881-1923.

Measurements:
overall: 112 mm 20 mm, 44g
Materials:
glass , cork , opium , chalk and complete
Object Number:
1981-1010 Pt3
type:
phial and opium
Glass phial with cork stopper and chamois covering of Tabloid brand Bismuth and Dover Powder pills. 110 mm x 24 mm diameter

Glass phial with cork stopper and chamois covering of Tabloid brand Bismuth and Dover Powder pills. 110 mm x 24 mm diameter

Glass phial with cork stopper and chamois covering of Tabloid brand Bismuth and Dover Powder (opium and ipecac) pills. 110 mm x 24 mm diameter, 70 g. Made by Burroughs Wellcome and Co., London, 1881-1923.

Measurements:
overall: 110 mm 24 mm, 70g
Materials:
complete , glass , cork , chamois , bismuth , opium and ipecac
Object Number:
1981-1010 Pt4
type:
phial and opium
Glass phial with chamois leather covered cork stopper, of Tabloid brand Dover Powder compressed tablets. 107 mm x 20 mm diameter

Glass phial with chamois leather covered cork stopper, of Tabloid brand Dover Powder compressed tablets. 107 mm x 20 mm diameter

Glass phial with cork stopper half-full of Tabloid brand Dover Powder compressed tablets. 107 mm x 20 mm diameter, 28 g. Made by Burroughs Wellcome and Co., London, 1910-1925.

Measurements:
overall: 107 mm 20 mm, 28g
Materials:
half-full , glass , cork , opium and ipecac
Object Number:
1981-1010 Pt5
type:
phial and opium
Glass phial with cork stopper and chamois covering of Camphor Compound Tincture (paregoric) tablets

Glass phial with cork stopper and chamois covering of Camphor Compound Tincture (paregoric) tablets

Glass phial with cork stopper and chamois covering of Camphor Compound Tincture (paregoric) tablets, complete. 110 mm x 20 mm diameter, 37 g. Made by Burroughs Wellcome and Co., London, 1881-1923.

Measurements:
overall: 110 mm 20 mm, 37g
Materials:
glass , cork , chamois , camphor , opium tincture and complete
Object Number:
1981-1010 Pt6
type:
phial and opium
Glass bottle with cork stopper, covered in chamois leather and with paper label around bottle. To contain Tabloid brand of 'Grey powder' with opium tablets

Glass bottle with cork stopper, covered in chamois leather and with paper label around bottle. To contain Tabloid brand of 'Grey powder' with opium tablets

Glass bottle with cork stopper, covered in chamois leather and with paper label around bottle. To contain Tabloid brand of 'Grey powder' (containing mercury and chalk) with opium tablets. Grey powder was commonly used to treat syphalis, though it unknown if this was the use of the combined grey powder and opium.

Materials:
mercury and calcium carbonate
Object Number:
1981-1010 Pt7
type:
bottle and opium
Glass vial with cork stopper containing hypodermic tablets consisting of 1/4 grain of cocaine hydrochloride

Glass vial with cork stopper containing hypodermic tablets consisting of 1/4 grain of cocaine hydrochloride

Glass vial with cork stopper containing approximately 12 tabloid hypodermic tablets consisting of 1/4 grain of cocaine hydrochloride. 'Cocaine is the oldest local anaesthetic but because of systemic toxic effects and the danger of causing addiction use is now almost entirely restricted to opthalmic surgery and surgery of the ear nose and throat' (Martindale, 25th ed 1967). Morphine is a powerful analgesic and narcotic but it also has central stimulant actions.

Object Number:
1981-1010 Pt8
type:
phial and cocaine
Small glass vial with cork stopper containing approximately 10 tabloid opthalmic tablets

Small glass vial with cork stopper containing approximately 10 tabloid opthalmic tablets

Small glass vial with cork stopper containing approximately 10 tabloid opthalmic tablets consisting of 1/200 grain of atropine hydrobromide and 1/200 grain of cocaine hydrochloride. 'Cocaine is the oldest local anaesthetic but because of systemic effects and the danger of causing addiction its use is now almost entirely restricted to opthalmic surgery and surgery of the ear nose and throat' (Martindale, 25th ed 1967). Atropine is a stimulant.

Object Number:
1981-1010 Pt9
type:
phial and cocaine
Glass bottle, with cork stopper, and a chamois covering, containing 'Soloid' Brand Naso-Pharyngeal Compound

Glass bottle, with cork stopper, and a chamois covering, containing 'Soloid' Brand Naso-Pharyngeal Compound

Clear glass bottle, with paper labels and cork stopper, with a leather chamois covering, containing 'Soloid' Brand Naso-Pharyngeal Compound. The tablets are labelled a poison since they contain cocaine hydrochloride, the rest of the ingredients are The directions state; 'One powdered and dissolved in one to three ounces of tepid water, forms a solution of suitable strength for sniffing up the nostrils, and for use as a gargle or spray'. The bottle dates from between 1884-1917.

Object Number:
1981-1010 Pt10
type:
bottle and cocaine
Glass, circle based bottle with cork stopper covered in chamois leather

Glass, circle based bottle with cork stopper covered in chamois leather

Glass, circle based bottle with cork stopper covered in chamois leather. Paper label around bottle. To contain Tabloid brand of Kino compound powder tablets consisting of the ingredients, kino powder, opium powder and cinnamon bark powder. Kino is dried juice of Pterocarpus Marsupium. The key ingredient of kino is kinotanic acid which is an astrigent.

Object Number:
1981-1010 Pt11
type:
bottle and opium
Glass phial with kid covering containing Compound Tincture of Chloroform and Morphine (Chlorodyne). 110 mm x 22 mm diameter

Glass phial with kid covering containing Compound Tincture of Chloroform and Morphine (Chlorodyne). 110 mm x 22 mm diameter

Glass phial with kid covering containing Compound Tincture of Chloroform and Morphine (Chlorodyne). 110 mm x 22 mm diameter, 35 g. Manufactured by Burroughs, Wellcome and Co., London, 1881-1923.

Measurements:
overall: 110 mm 22 mm, 35g
Materials:
glass , kid , chloroform , morphine and half-full
Object Number:
1981-1010 Pt12
type:
morphine and phial
Image ©
The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Glass aseptic hypodermic syringe with leather case

Glass aseptic hypodermic syringe with leather case

Glass aseptic hypodermic syringe with leather case, including paper instruction two Tabloid tablets

Object Number:
1981-1010/58
type:
hypodermic syringe