Ethyl chloride was first used as a general anaesthetic in 1847, by Johann Ferdinand Heyfelder (1798-1869), a German surgeon. Once ethyl chloride became readily available, it was again taken up as a general anaesthetic in the late 1890s (USA). Ethyl chloride evaporates very quickly so that when it is sprayed onto the skin it produces very cold temperatures. “Refrigeration anesthesia”, or cryoanesthesia, refers to the anesthesia produced when the skin is significantly cooled.Due to its rapid onset, ethyl chloride was often used to induce general anaesthesia. It would be followed by a second anaesthetic, such as ether or nitrous oxide, which would be used for the remainder of the procedure. (The Wood Library Museum, 2016) The bottle has clear side and base mould seams which indicate it was made using a cup bottom mould.Glass bottle with paper label, metal fastening at the top and cream coloured plastic sealant at the neck. The bottle has clear side and base mould seams which indicate it was made using a cup bottom mould.Printed on main label at front: 100 c.c. 3 1/2 fl. ozs. / MEDICINAL CHEMICALS CORP [illegible] / MEDCO / ETHYL CHLORIDE / PURE / This Product conforms to all the re-/quirements of the BRITISH PHARMA-/COPCEIA, 1932, for / GENERAL ANAESTHESIA / Manufactured by / MEDICINAL CHEMICALS CORPORATION PTY. LIMITED / 39 Martin Place, Sydney Printed on round label on reverse side: 6d. / Cred [illegible]this container if returned in good order and condition. Stamped into underside of bottle: CM / S99ethyl chloride, medco, medicinal chemicals corporation pty. ltd, dr [e.s] holloway, bottle

A characteristic black, round topped box, to carry medical equipment with a divider which would have held a square, plain glass bottle. The donor, Dr. Holloway is known to have acquired much of Dr. Howard Jones' equipment. In 1930 Dr Howard Jones, M.B., B.S., (Lond.). Surgeon Anaesthetist to Charing Cross Hospital first described percaine in an article in the British Journal of Anaesthesia. According to Norman, J. in the British Journal of Anaesthesia, Jones was the first honorary secretary of the Association of Great Britain and Ireland, 'of spinal anaesthesia fame', and a leading practitioner in his day. He apparently committed suicide in 1935, there are references that he 'could not make a living from anaesthesia'. (Norman, 2002, 'An informal history of the first 25 years', The British Journal of Anaesthesia, 88 (3): 445-450) The maker of this medical box, Allen and Hanburys Ltd., was a British pharmaceutical manufacturer, founded in 1715, absorbed by Glaxo Laboratories in 1958.Black cardboard box with handle and simple border decoration on top. Brass hinges at the rear and two brass hook clasps at the front. Interior is lined with black linen. Cardboard divider inside and square compartment in corner would have been used to hold a bottle of ether in place.Printed in gold leaf inside lid: ALLEN & HANBURYS LTD / LONDON.W. / 48.WIGMORE STdr. [e.s.] holloway, medical box, carry kit, allen & hanbury's ltd.

Sidney Yankauer, M.D. (1872-1932), an ear, nose and throat specialist and pioneer in bronchoscopy, practiced at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. Dr. Yankauer, a prolific inventor of medical equipment, might best be known for the tube he designed for suctioning the mouth and throat. Yankauer introduced the wire-mesh anaesthesia mask around 1904. The drop method involved placing the mask over the patient’s nose and mouth, and then placing gauze over the mesh of the mask. Next, liquid anaesthetic, such as ether or chloroform, was applied in drops or lightly poured onto the gauze so that the patient breathed in evaporated anesthetic as well as air. The gutter around the base of the mask was designed to catch any residue of the harmful anaesthetic. (The Wood Library Museum, 2016; Museum of Healthcare Kingston, 2016)A metal tear-shaped mask with gauze wire dome, gutter around the base and detachable spring piece with open circular handle to secure cloth over gauze. Found inside medical carry box #899Stamped underneath neck of circular handle: HATRICKdr [e.s.] holloway, hatrick, yankauer, drop method, mask, gauze

Seems to be a non- collapsible mask. Otherwise is a similar, thinner variety of Murray's mask, which was used for the administration of choloroform. John Murray was born in England, 1843 and described his wire mask in 1868 as a young chloroformist at Middlesex Hospital. It was wedge-shaped and made of thick wire and designed to be folded. The removable cover was originally made of several layers of flannel. Murray’s mask became very popular, especially in Australia, and was generally used with a single layer of flannel without an aperture or opening, as is this example. John Murray was an enthusiastic and innovative physician who also had an interest in nitrous oxide anaesthesia and conducted a series of experiments with J. Burdon Sanderson on dental patients comparing nitrous oxide to pure nitrogen. His career was short-lived and he died just before his 30th birthday. (Ball, C 1995, 'Cover Note: Murray's Chloroform Mask', Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Vol. 23, No. 2, pg. 135)Triangular shaped wire mask covered by flannel. The flannel is sewn over frame and stitched around the base and along the vertical wire. The style and shape is similar to Murray's mask, which was used for the administration of chloroform, however this variation is not collapsible like Murray's mask.dr [e.s] holloway, mask, dr j. murray, chloroform

The bottle was probably used for holding ether as part of a doctors medical kit. The bottle has visible side mould seams on the shoulder which discontinues or fades at the lip, a tooled finish and the glass has bubbles. There is no pontil-scar or mark on the base of the bottle, but there is a circular mould seam on the base.Small square based glass bottle with round neck, possibly used to hold ether. Found inside carry box with other unrelated objects including brown stopper which does not fit in bottle. Appropriate stopper for glass bottle is not present.Small amount of brown residue inside bottle. Bubbles in side of glass. Brown marks on outer bottle. Scratches inside bottle neck. Glass stopper missing.dr [e.s.] holloway, bottle, glass

Sir Frederic W. Hewitt (1857-1916), an accomplished and well respected English anesthesiologist, was an expert in the function and use of the Clover Ether Inhaler. In 1901, Hewitt described his modification of the Clover Inhaler. Often referred to as the Hewitt Wide-Bore Inhaler, Dr. Hewitt introduced changes in order to make it easier to breathe through the device and improve the ventilation of oxygen and carbon dioxide. In 1901, Hewitt was recruited to anesthetize King Edward VII for emergency abdominal surgery. This was just a day or so before the new King was to be coronated. He recovered well, and Hewitt became the first anesthesiologist ever to be knighted. (Source: Wood Library Museum)Tall black round topped box with brass hooks at the sides and brass hinges at rear. There is a brown fabric handle on the top. The box has red padding inside the lid and red lining inside the base and sides. There is a round section in the base of the box for holding the round clear glass bottle for ether. There is also a ellipse-shaped metal inhaler on small metal base with a thin metal handle and pipe with bakelite plug attached via a small metal chain. A brown mask is made of brown leather and celluloid which is connected to the inhaler. There is a metal ether measure for pouring the ether.On notecard in box: (B) HEWITT'S INHALER 1895, MADE BY GEO. BARTH & CO LTD., ADVERTISED AS THE SOLE MAKERS OF THE INHALER AND RECOGNISED BY HEWITT IN HIS TEXT BOOK - ANAESTHETICS AND THEIR ADMINISTRATION - AS THE MAKER OF HIS INHALER. / GIVEN BY DR. E.S. HOLLOWAY IN 1951, WHO ACQUIRED MUCH OF HOWARD JONES' EQUIPMENT AFTER THE LATTER'S DEATH. Stamped on underside of glass bottle in a circle: WUBW [illegible] Blue sticker on inhaler: O.2.13. Printed on inhaler under handle: Geo Barth [illegible] / SOL [illegible] Printed on body of inhaler: Full Printed on body of inhaler: 1/2 Printed on inside of leather mask: F35hewitt, sir frederic, jones, howard, inhaler, geo. barth & co. ltd., ether