Ethyl chloride anesthetic spray bottle with box

Object/Artifact

-

Archive of Cuban Socialism

Name/Title

Ethyl chloride anesthetic spray bottle with box

Entry/Object ID

2025.1.141

Description

An East German medical anesthetic package: a glass spray bottle of "Cloruro de Etilo" (ethyl chloride) with its cardboard box. The elongated, rounded glass vial has a metal spray valve/lever closure at the neck for releasing a fine jet of the volatile liquid. A red-and-white wraparound label reads "CLORURO DE ETILO / químicamente puro (DAB 6) / para anestesia local y general / Modelo B / Gebrüder Eichhorn, Mellenbach / República Democrática Alemana"; a faint hand-inked notation appears on the label's lower edge. The box (buff card, red-framed label) repeats: "CLORURO DE ETILO / 100 ccm / químicamente puro (DAB 6) / para anestesia local y general / Modelo B / GEBRÜDER EICHHORN · MELLENBACH / República Democrática Alemana." A box end-flap carries a handwritten pencil notation "Sept/68" with "$0.53" (a date and price). Box and bottle are heavily aged, foxed, and stained; the bottle is intact with its valve.

Context

Medical supplies of Leopoldo Arús Gálvez

Collection

The Cabrera Arús family collection, Leopoldo Arús Gálvez collection

Acquisition

Accession

2025.1

Made/Created

Manufacturer

Gebrüder Eichhorn

Date made

1963

Time Period

1960s

Place

City

Mellenbach

* Untyped Place

G.D.R.

Region

Central Europe

Continent

Europe

Notes

Maker: Gebrüder Eichhorn, Mellenbach, German Democratic Republic (East Germany) — "Gebrüder Eichhorn" (Eichhorn Brothers) of Mellenbach, per the label and box. A specialist manufacturer of the ethyl chloride anesthetic spray (here "Modelo B," 100 ccm, "químicamente puro DAB 6," i.e. conforming to the Deutsches Arzneibuch 6th edition pharmacopoeia standard). Date: 1968 (acquisition/dispensing), per the handwritten "Sept/68" on the box flap. Manufacture August 5, 1963 as per bottle stamp (not visible in pics).

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Notes

Bottle label: "CLORURO DE ETILO / químicamente puro (DAB 6) / para anestesia local y general / Modelo B / Gebrüder Eichhorn, Mellenbach / República Democrática Alemana"; "5. 8. 63" faint notation at lower edge. Box: "CLORURO DE ETILO / 100 ccm / químicamente puro (DAB 6) / para anestesia local y general / Modelo B / GEBRÜDER EICHHORN · MELLENBACH / República Democrática Alemana." Box end-flap, handwritten in pencil: "Sept/68" and "$0.53."

Condition

Overall Condition

Fair

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Person or Organization

Leopoldo Arús Gálvez

Notes

owner

Related Places

Place

City

Havana

Country

Cuba

Region

Caribbean, Central America

Notes

use, acquisition

Place

City

Mellenbach

* Untyped Place

G.D.R.

Region

Central Europe

Continent

Europe

Notes

production

Research Notes

Notes

Ethyl chloride (cloruro de etilo) is a rapid-acting agent used both as a topical refrigerant for local anesthesia (the volatile spray freezes and numbs the skin for minor procedures) and historically as a fast-acting inhalation general anesthetic; the label's "para anestesia local y general" reflects both uses, and "químicamente puro (DAB 6)" cites conformity to the 6th edition of the Deutsches Arzneibuch (German pharmacopoeia). The maker, Gebrüder Eichhorn of Mellenbach (a town in Thuringia), is identified from the packaging; its specific corporate history was not established from available sources. The Spanish-language labeling marks it as prepared for a Spanish-speaking market such as Cuba.

Created By

María A. Cabrera Arús

Create Date

March 8, 2026

Updated By

María A. Cabrera Arús

Update Date

June 18, 2026