Description

Silver Nitrate Sticks

Antique amber glass bottle, with a boxwood and cork stopper.

Green label: SUBSTANCE TO BE KEPT SEPARATE – CODEX 1908

Indicating to the pharmacist that it must be stored separately from other substances in the cabinet for toxic substances, the famous ‘poison cabinet’.

Silver azotate (or silver nitrate) was presented in the form of small sticks (pencils) which were often fixed to a pencil holder for precise application.

These pencils were mainly used for their caustic and antiseptic properties. They were used to cauterise wounds, treat mouth ulcers and warts, or for neonatal ophthalmia.

Silver nitrate is a powerful corrosive agent. On contact with mucous membranes or damp skin, it causes immediate tissue destruction. Incorrect handling or confusion with a soothing balm could cause irreparable damage, particularly to the eyes.

Furthermore, it required particular care as it ‘marks’ everything it touches. A single drop can permanently stain a countertop, hands or other medicines, hence the importance of keeping it away from neutral substances. It contaminates the working environment due to its chemical properties.

It comes from the former cellar-laboratory of a Parisian pharmacy. The bottles had not been moved from the shelves since the late 1950s. The cellar had served as a medical analysis laboratory and a laboratory for the pharmacy’s compounded preparations from 1900 until around 1950.

Height of the bottle: 12cm with stopper

EMPTY