Share your favorites on Show & Tell

Inhale Tar-Oil

In Lamps > Victorian Lamps > Show & Tell and Victorian Era > Show & Tell.
roddyq's loves1690 of 3789Chambers Brothers, Quicksilver, BG-581880's Waltham
11
Love it
0
Like it

dlpetersendlpetersen loves this.
Lamplover78Lamplover78 loves this.
Ted_StraubTed_Straub loves this.
gargoylecollectorgargoylecollector loves this.
vintagelampvintagelamp loves this.
roddyqroddyq loves this.
JImamJImam loves this.
ho2cultchaho2cultcha loves this.
fortapachefortapache loves this.
TassieDevilTassieDevil loves this.
PoliticalPinbacksPoliticalPinbacks loves this.
See 9 more
Add to collection

    Please create an account, or Log in here

    If you don't have an account, create one here.


    Create a Show & TellReport as inappropriate


    Posted 8 years ago

    SpiritBear
    (813 items)

    A couple years ago I picked up just the lamp to one of these. Ever since, I had desired for the whole set-up but didn't want to pay $30 to get just the lamp and stand.

    For $15 I found it still in the box (most of the box, anyway). Sadly, someone taped the box, which is a mistake.

    Vapo-Cresolene lasted on the market for about half a century as a cure, and later remedy, for many ailments, including Asthma. Essentially, you poured the coal-tar product into the dish and lit the burner under it, which would cause it to boil away into the air in a sealed room, typically whilst you were sleeping.

    Not only a medicine but a night-light, really. Safe for even the most delicate child (says the box), as you fill their lungs with tar! Just like what many parents do today by smoking inside the house.

    The bottles are bumpy, as it warns that the contents are poison. (The box says to not eat the contents, and states that it is poison. So, why not inhale it instead!?)

    A fun quack-medicine piece. Could be used as a diffuser.

    This model is circa 1899-1907. A Victorian invention of the 1880s.

    logo
    Victorian Lamps
    See all
    Antique Vtg Art Deco Victorian Bridge Floor Lamp Nautical Ship Black Gold Fringe
    Antique Vtg Art Deco Victorian Brid...
    $229
    Vintage Antique Victorian Hanging Oil Parlor Library Lamp W/ Matching Font Shade
    Vintage Antique Victorian Hanging O...
    $295
    1880 Cast Iron 6 Bradley & Hubbard Arm Hanging Oil Lamp Chandelier Light Fixture
    1880 Cast Iron 6 Bradley & Hubbard ...
    $3,100
    Antique Vintage Floral Lamp Shade Fringed Pink Victorian
    Antique Vintage Floral Lamp Shade F...
    $95
    logo
    Antique Vtg Art Deco Victorian Bridge Floor Lamp Nautical Ship Black Gold Fringe
    Antique Vtg Art Deco Victorian Brid...
    $229
    See all

    Comments

    1. PoliticalPinbacks PoliticalPinbacks, 8 years ago
      Early aroma therapy... and if poison the last one you will ever need
    2. SpiritBear, 8 years ago
      It was designed to help you breath. LOL.
    3. PoliticalPinbacks PoliticalPinbacks, 8 years ago
      A cure all found to be basically useless - PDF at bottom shows your item.
      Cresolene is a dark liquid with a pungent smell made from coal tar < YIKES
      The Vapo-Cresolene vaporizer was supposed to cure “Whooping Cough,
      Spasmodic Croup, Nasal Catarrh, Colds, Bronchitis, Coughs, Sore Throat, Broncho
      [sic] Pneumonia, The Paroxysms of Asthma and Hay Fever, The Bronchial
      Complications of Scarlet Fever and Measles and as an aid in the treatment of
      Diphtheria and Certain Inflammatory Throat Diseases.”

      https://sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/MunseyVapo-cresolene.pdf
    4. SpiritBear, 8 years ago
      A decent read on it. Didn't no Sha had an article on it.
    5. fortapache fortapache, 8 years ago
      Early vaping? Looks like a neat piece.
    6. SpiritBear, 8 years ago
      Vaporisers are still used today.
      My cat has been intrigue by it.
    7. PoliticalPinbacks PoliticalPinbacks, 8 years ago
      Big business these days from Home Health Care, E - Cigarettes to Medical Marijuana
    8. blunderbuss2 blunderbuss2, 8 years ago
      And they say smoking is bad for you !!
    9. PoliticalPinbacks PoliticalPinbacks, 8 years ago
      Someone burned cat nip eh
    10. blunderbuss2 blunderbuss2, 8 years ago
      I tried a Nico-Derm patch once, but it was too hard to keep lit.
    11. Manikin Manikin, 8 years ago
      oh bb2 your to funny :-)

    Want to post a comment?

    Create an account or login in order to post a comment.