Dewar flask marked Brighton Mental Hospital

Made:
1943-1948 in Europe
Dewar flask with wooden transit container marked 'B.M.H Dewar flask with wooden transit container marked 'B.M.H

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Dewar flask with wooden transit container marked 'B.M.H
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Dewar flask with wooden transit container marked 'B.M.H
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Dewar flask with wooden transit container marked 'B.M.H.' (Brighton Mental Hospital), used for transporting early supplies of penicillin, 1943-1948.

It looks like something for carrying your lunch in, but this flask transported early penicillin supplies at the Brighton Mental Hospital pathology laboratories. The hospital doubled as a sanatorium for treating tuberculosis patients and as a mental hospital. This was not unusual for the time as it was thought that the clean sea air of the south coast was good for a number of mental and physical ailments. The double-walled metal flask with cork stopper and screw top lid is called a Dewar flask. It is named after its inventor, the Scottish chemist and physicist Sir James Dewar (1842–1923). Dewar flasks are designed to hold liquid at low temperatures.

Details

Category:
Biotechnology
Object Number:
1996-271/38
Materials:
wood, metal, cork and plastic
Measurements:
overall: 280 mm x 110 mm x 110 mm, 1.17kg
type:
dewar flask
credit:
Princess Royal Hospital