After the connection between insulin and diabetes was announced in 1921, several pharmaceutical firms hastened to bring insulin and related materials to market. This cardboard box contains one hypodermic needle and carries a text that reads in part “ONE LILLEY ASEPTIC GLASS / ILETIN SYRINGE No. 230 / Complete with two steel needles. Graduated to administer U-10 and U-20 Iletin” and “ELI LILLEY AND COMPANY, INDIANAPOLIS, U.S.A.” The inscription on the syringe reads “Lilley 993 / NO. 230-ILETIN SYRINGE / ELI LILLY & CO. INDIANAPOLIS, U.S.A.” Iletin was the Eli Lilly trade name for insulin. The firm filed for a trademark on the term in 1922.
Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.
If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.