Object Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
58.60 |
Object Name |
Apparatus, Disinfecting |
Title |
Disinfecting Apparatus |
Artist |
Guyton de Morveau, Bernard |
Place of Origin |
France |
Date |
ca. 1800 |
Description |
Walnut frame resembling book press with screw top. Glass jar is missing. Manufactured by Dumotiez et Boullay. |
Label |
Bernard Guyton de Morveau devised this disinfecting apparatus in 1773, after attempting to clean the air in disease-ridden crypts and prisons in France. Guyton de Morveau proposed purifying noxious atmospheres by placing hydrochloric acid in a wooden press. The acid would supposedly "neutralize" dangerous miasmas, the airborne poisons then believed to cause disease. Thomas Jefferson owned one of these devices, which he presented to the APS in 1803. |
Material |
Wood |
Dimensions |
H-14 W-6 L-9.75 inches |
Credit line |
American Philosophical Society |
Search Terms |
18th century eighteenth century 19th century nineteenth century Founding Father science invention scientific instrument medicine |