Florence flask
date: label: date made
content: after 1902
name: label: maker
content: Whitall Tatum Company
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: This object is a 250 mL Florence flask made from 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: This object is part of a collection donated by Barbara Keppel, wife of C. Robert Keppel. Robert Keppel taught at the University of Nebraska-Omaha after receiving his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, and his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from M.I.T. The glassware in the Keppel collection covers the 19th and early 20th centuries.
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: National Museum of American History Accession File #1985.0311
label: Description (Brief)
content: Rosenfeld, Louis. Four Centuries of Clinical Chemistry. CRC Press,
label: Description (Brief)
content: 1999.
label: Description (Brief)
content: “University of Nebraska Omaha.” 2015. Accessed May 4. http://www.unomaha.edu/college-of-arts-and-sciences/chemistry/student-opportunities/scholarships.php.
label: Description (Brief)
content: Whitall Tatum & Company. “Whitall Tatum & Co. Glass Ware,” 1879.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: Subject
content: Science & Scientific Instruments
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Chemistry
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content: Science Under Glass
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content: Science & Mathematics
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Barbara A. Keppel
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1985.0311.027
label: catalog number
content: 1985.0311.027
label: accession number
content: 1985.0311
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Florence Flask
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall: 16 cm; 6 5/16 in
label: Measurements
content: overall: 6 1/4 in x 3 1/4 in x 3 1/4 in; 15.875 cm x 8.255 cm x 8.255 cm