Saccharometer, Carwardine, in cardboard case, instructions pasted in lid, English(?), 1861-1930

A saccharometer determined the quantity of sugar in urine. This condition is known as diabetes. Doctors in ancient Greece recognised some people’s urine was sweet-smelling. A chemical test was devised late in the 1800s to estimate the amount of sugar present. Urine was mixed with a chemical called Fehling’s solution and heated. Sugar quantity was then assessed by comparison with a chart. This saccharometer was introduced by Thomas Carwardine, a physician at the Middlesex Hospital around 1894. It was used in the consulting room or at the patient’s bedside. It produced a result in minutes. The box contains a graduated measure, three test tubes, two ring grips and instructions.