French chemist Louis Pasteur (1822–1895) developed unique glass flasks for growing and studying bacteria that became standard tools in bacteriology labs. The long bent neck helped keep airborne contamination out while the thin side arm was used for transferring the liquid contents to other vessels.
Pasteur’s investigations into fermentation and the causes of disease laid much of the groundwork for the establishment of the science of bacteriology in the second half of the 19th century. American scientists studied his methods, tools, and techniques as they set up new laboratories in American universities and public health institutions.
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.
Sources:
Eimer and Amend. Revised and Enlarged Catalogue of Bacteriological Apparatus Manufactured or Imported. New York: The Firm, 1907. 118 https://books.google.com/books?id=14FIAAAAYAAJ
National Museum of American History Accession File #1985.0311
“University of Nebraska Omaha.” 2015. Accessed May 4. http://www.unomaha.edu/college-of-arts-and-sciences/chemistry/student-opportunities/scholarships.php.
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