Florence Flask, Nonsol
date: label: date made
content: after 1902
name: label: maker
content: Whitall Tatum Company
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: This Florence flask is made of Nonsol glass by Whitall Tatum Company. The Florence flask is characterized by a long neck and rounded bottom with a flat base. It is useful as a reaction vessel as well as for heating solutions.
label: Description (Brief)
content: Nonsol was a brand of borosilicate glass developed by the Whitall Tatum Company. German scientists Otto Schott (1851–1935) and Ernst Abbe (1840–1905) first developed borosilicate glass in the late 19th century. Its strength against chemical attack and low coefficient of thermal expansion made the glass more resistant to the chemical and heat stresses of the laboratory environment than any other glass on the market. When it first became available in 1902, Nonsol was among the first American-made borosilicate glasses. The name “Nonsol” likely was a shortening of “non-soluble,” referring to its chemical resistance.
label: Description (Brief)
content: Whitall Tatum Company was among the first American glass companies to manufacture chemical glassware, starting as early as the late 1870s. Based in Millville, New Jersey, the company’s factory produced chemical and other glassware for over 150 years, finally closing its doors in 1999.
label: Description (Brief)
content: Sources:
label: Description (Brief)
content: Estridge, Barbara H., Anna P. Reynolds, and Norma J. Walters. Basic Medical Laboratory Techniques. Cengage Learning, 2000.
label: Description (Brief)
content: Harrison, Charles. Cumberland County, New Jersey: 265 Years of History. The History Press, 2013.
label: Description (Brief)
content: Jensen, William B. “The Origin of Pyrex.” Journal of Chemical Education 83, no. 5 (2006): 692. doi:10.1021/ed083p692.
label: Description (Brief)
content: The Journal of Biological Chemistry 25 (1916). American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
label: Description (Brief)
content: Kraissl, F. “A History of the Chemical Apparatus Industry.” Journal of Chemical Education 10, no. 9 (1933): 519. doi:10.1021/ed010p519.
label: Description (Brief)
content: Rosenfeld, Louis. Four Centuries of Clinical Chemistry. CRC Press, 1999.
label: Description (Brief)
content: Whitall Tatum & Company. “Whitall Tatum & Co. Glass Ware,” 1879.
label: Description
content: The “NONSOL / W.T. CO.” inscription on the neck of this Florence flask refers to a brand of borosilicate glass that was developed by the Whitall Tatum Company, and introduced to market in 1902.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: Subject
content: Science & Scientific Instruments
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Medicine
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content: Science Under Glass
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content: Science & Mathematics
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: From collection of George A. Bender (Accession 286284)
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: MG.M-12932.02
label: catalog number
content: M-12932.02
label: accession number
content: 286284
label: collector/donor number
content: 192
objectType: label: Object Name
content: flask
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: glass (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 9 in x 6 in; 22.86 cm x 15.24 cm