stoppered glass bottle of "Acide Borique Fondu"
Date: circa 1862
Inventory Number: 4660
Classification: Chemical
Maker: Rousseau Frères (1820 - 1870)
User: Medical College of Alabama (1859 - 1945)
User: Chemistry Laboratory, Harvard College (founded 1850)
Cultural Region:
Place of Origin:
Dimensions:
21 x 7.5 cm (8 1/4 x 2 15/16 in.)
Material:
Description:
Class A chemical. TOXIC. Boron Trioxide, B2O3. In a cylindrical bottle with a ground glass stopper and a ground neck.
Signedprinted in black on tan paper label: MEDICAL COLLEGE OF ALABAMA / Acide / Borique Fond / ROUSSEAU FRÈRES, Rue de l'Ecole de Medicine, 9, Paris.
Inscribedpainted in black on back of bottle: B5
handwritten in black on tan label: B_2O_3
printed in white on black label near base of bottle: 0773
handwritten in black on tan label: B_2O_3
printed in white on black label near base of bottle: 0773
FunctionMedical/teaching/chemistry. Stable under ordinary conditions of use and storage. Reacts slowly with water to release heat and form boric acid. WARNING! HARMFUL IF SWALLOWED OR INHALED. CAUSES IRRITATION TO SKIN, EYES AND RESPIRATORY TRACT. Incompatibilities: May react violently on contact with bromine pentafluoride. Material is corrosive to metals in the presence of oxygen.
Historical AttributesEarly in the U.S. Civil War, the Medical College of Alabama placed an order for some chemicals with Rousseau Freres, a chemical supply house in Paris, France. In 1862, those chemicals were loaded onto a Confederate ship, bound for the Deep South. As fate would have it, this ship was intercepted on the high seas by a Yankee Clipper ship that proceeded to tow the ship into Boston Harbor, where the goods were sold at auction. Harvard College won the bidding for the chemicals, which ended up in the Chemistry Building.
Excerpted from the reminiscences of George Kenyon, former student and benefactor of the Chemistry Department, Harvard University. Online at the Department's website.
Excerpted from the reminiscences of George Kenyon, former student and benefactor of the Chemistry Department, Harvard University. Online at the Department's website.
Published ReferencesSara J. Schechner, "Museum Education and Instruction on the History and Nature of Science", in Regina Lee Blaszcyk (Ed.), Partners in Innovation: Science Education and the Science Workforce. Philadelphia, Chemical Heritage Foundation, 2005. pp. 84-85.