Poison bottle, empty, used for anaesthetic chloroform, prepared by Philip Harris and Co. Ltd., Birmingham, 1959

Liquid chloroform was used as an anaesthetic from the late 1840s until the 1950s. The liquid would be vaporised by machine and inhaled by the patient through a face mask. Once the potentially toxic nature of chloroform had become apparent, it was used far more cautiously. The ridges on this glass bottle indicate that its contents are poisonous. The chloroform that was once stored in this bottle was prepared by Philip Harris & Co Ltd.