Signedprinted in black on tan paper label: MEDICAL COLLEGE OF ALABAMA / Chaux / Pure / ROUSSEAU FRÈRES, Rue de l'Ecole de Medicine, 9, Paris.
Inscribedpainted in black on back of bottle: Ca62
printed in white on black label near base of bottle: 2233
FunctionMedicine/teaching/chemistry. WATER REACTIVE. Pure Calcium Oxide, CaO [Lime]. Lime and water can react exothermically with sufficient heat to ignite combustible materials in certain instances.,DANGER! CAUSES SEVERE IRRITATION AND BURNS TO EVERY AREA OF CONTACT. HARMFUL IF SWALLOWED OR INHALED. Incompatibilities: Water, acids, humid air, hydrogen fluoride, phosphorous pentoxide, boric oxide, steam, many organic substances.
Historical AttributesEarly in the U.S. Civil War, the Medical College of Alabama placed an order for some chemicals with Rousseau Freres, a chemical supply house in Paris, France. In 1862, those chemicals were loaded onto a Confederate ship, bound for the Deep South. As fate would have it, this ship was intercepted on the high seas by a Yankee Clipper ship that proceeded to tow the ship into Boston Harbor, where the goods were sold at auction. Harvard College won the bidding for the chemicals, which ended up in the Chemistry Building.
Excerpted from the reminiscences of George Kenyon, former student and benefactor of the Chemistry Department, Harvard University. Online at the Department's website.