Browse Artefacts (75 total)

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So called because it was originally made from deer antlers, spirit [of] hartshorn was another name for liquid ammonia. It was created through the process of distillation, which many people did not have the ability to…

Spirit of Nitre, sold by Andrew Robertson, Chemist & Druggist, Markinch; supplied by Duncan, Flockhart & Co., Edinburgh. Spirit of Nitre, or Sweet Spirit of Nitre, is the popular term for the chemical compound ethyl nitrite. Ingested orally, spirit…

Spirit of Sal Volatile, prepared by Duncan, Flockhart & Co. Sal Volatile (volatile salts, smelling salts) is a mixture of ammonium carbonate and ammonia water. Spirit of Sal Volatile was a liquid ammonia solution, prescribed as an antispasmodic,…

Spirit of Terebinth, labelled by Sir Stuart Threipland in his medicine chest as ‘Spt Terebinth’.

Terebinth (pistacia terebinthus; turpentine tree) refers to both the terebinth tree and the resin it produces, now known as turpentine. Spirit of…

A cylindrical bottle with a wooden stopper containing Spongia, prepared by a homeopathic chemist Joseph James, Promenade Place, Cheltenham, who had worked for Arthur Guinness M.D. and undertook the company and changed the name to Joseph James M.P.S…

Tincture of Cantharides, labelled by Sir Stuart Threipland in his medicine chest as ‘Ti Canth’.

Cantharidin (Cantharides, Cantharis, Cantharid) refers to substances produced by the Lytta (formerly Cantharis) Vesicatoria beetle (Spanish Fly;…

Tincture of Castoreum, labelled by Sir Stuart Threipland in his medicine chest as ‘Ti Castor:R’.

Castoreum, a red-brown secretion from beaver inguinal sacs. The term ‘castor’ is the Latin word for beaver and is used to describe the castor…

Tincture of English Crocus, labelled by Sir Stuart Threipland in his medicine chest as ‘Tin Croc:Anglic’.

English crocus was used alongside rhubarb as an effective eighteenth- and nineteenth-century laxative, but English crocus powder could…

Tincture of Myrrh, labelled by Sir Stuart Threipland in his medicine chest as ‘Ti Myrrh’. Myrrh is a resin extracted from commiphora habessinica, here combined with liquid to make an infusion. Tinctures of myrrh were used as astringents and…

A small cylindrical medicine vial with screw top lid labelled ‘Tonsillitis’. The vial is filled with a number of greyish pills that, according to the label, contain: Tr. Aconite 1-5 gtt., Tr. Belladonna 1-10 gtt., Tr. Bryonia 1-10 gtt., and Red…