Summary
Alternative Name(s): Mercury Chloride; Calomel; Mercuric Oxide
Bottle of corrosive sublimate made by Felton, Grimwade & Duerdins circa 1900. Used in a mental health hospital pharmacy, in Victoria, Australia. Used in the treatment of syphillis before the advent of antibiotics. It was inhaled, ingested, injected and applied topically. Poisoning was a side effect.
During and after World War I, corrosive sublimate was used to make a lotion called Yellow Wash, applied to chancroid and syphilitic lesions (Dunbar, 2014: 242-3).
Physical Description
The drug Corrosive Sublimate in tablet-form is contained in a small dark brown bottle sealed with a cork. Contents: tablet (100)
More Information
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Collection Names
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Collecting Areas
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Acquisition Information
Donation from Office of Psychiatric Services, 03 Oct 1985
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Manufacturer
Felton, Grimwade & Duerdins Ltd, Melbourne, Greater Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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Place Used
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Inscriptions
POISONOUS NOT TO BE TAKEN embossed on bottle. One tablet dissolved in/20 fl.oz of water makes/a 1-1000 solution/POISON printed on label on bottle.
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Classification
Medicine & health, Mental health - pharmacy, Pharmaceuticals
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Category
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Discipline
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Type of item
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overall dimensions
4 cm (Length), 3 cm (Width), 10 cm (Height), 142.3 g (Weight)
Total weight includes packaging
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Dimensions
32 mm (Length), 42 mm (Width), 90 mm (Height)
Measurement From Conservation. Measuring Method: Maximum dimensions
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References
Raden Dunbar, 2014. The Secrets of the Anzacs. The Untold Story of Venereal Disease in the Australian Army, 1914-1919, Scribe, Melbourne.
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Keywords
Bottles, Hospitals, Psychiatric Services, Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), Syphilis, Making History - Psych Services, World War I, 1914-1918
