Medicine (2012.001.217)
Medicine (2012.001.217)

Bottle, Medicine

Artifact
Identifier:
2012.001.217
Description
Amber coloured glass medicine bottle with cork stopper and paper label. Bottle has a cylindrical body with round shoulders, short neck, and prescription-lip type finish. Originally contained "Chloretone Inhalant," manufactured by Parke, Davis & Co.
Additional Information
According to the label on the bottle, chloretone inhalant could be used as an anodyne (painkiller), antiseptic (preventing infection), and emollient (moisturizer). It was a solution of chloretone, camphor, menthol and oil of cinnamon in liquid petrolatum, designed to be inhaled as a very fine spray or nebula (mist). "Chloretone" was the name applied by Parke, Davis & Co., to the chemical chlorobutanol. Chlorobutanol is a preservative, sedative, hypnotic (sleep-inducing) and weak local anesthetic, that is also now known to be toxic to the liver and a severe skin and eye irritant.
;Parke, Davis and Company was founded in Detroit, MI in 1866 by physician and pharmacist Dr. Samuel P. Duffield, businessman Hervey C. Parke, and salesman George S. Davis. Dr. Duffield withdrew from the venture in 1869, and the name Parke, Davis, & Company was officially adopted in 1871, and incorporated in 1875. Their Walkerville, Ontario plant was built in 1890. The company was once the largest pharmaceutical company in the US, built the first pharmaceutical research laboratory in the US, and is credited with developing the first systematic methods for performing clinical trials of new medications. Another pharmaceutical company, Warner-Lambert, acquired Parke, Davis, & Co., in 1970, which was in turn acquired by Pfizer in 2000.
(manufacturer) (created)