A Late 19thC Glass Apothecary Bottle with Cut Glass Stopper for Hydrochloric Acid
SOLD
Origin: English
Period: Nineteenth Century
Provenance: Unknown
Date: c.1890
Circumference: 11 inches
Height: 9 inches
A large example in good condition, having an ornate cut glass faceted stopper. Original label reads ACID HYPROCH: DIL: in black lettering set upon a white ground, surrounded by a red stripe, then a gold outer border with black pinstripe
.Crafted in high quality flint glass, possibly by the York Glass Co., the vessel is square bodied with a pronounced frosted neck terminating in the original cut glass stopper. Historically called muriatic acid or spirits of salt, hydrochloric acid was produced from vitriol and common salt.
The alchemist Jabir ibn Hayyan first formally described it in the eighth century. During the Middle Ages, it was used by alchemists in the quest for the philosopher's stone, and later by European scientists including Glauber, Priestley, and Davy in their scientific research.