Posted 13 years ago
Deborah77
(7 items)
I found this old bottle -- which still has its label, and the little cloth swab attached to a wire inside -- among my late mother-in-laws things. She was a school secretary and probably got this when they tore down the old "Indian school", Osage Elementary, (Oklahoma) way back in the 50s or 60s. My husband says he remembers seeing it his whole life and he was born in 1961, so she had it before then. It is pretty much self-explanatory but it would still be interesting to hear what others may know about it or the company that produced it. Its a lovely little bottle in its own right, I think.
I have been researching this lil blue bottle (as well as others). I didn't notice if anyone had told you about the company, and I don't know very much. However, I did discover Clarotype was founded in 1920 by Leon Banov Sr. and George Mood. From what I learned the company was started in New York, but the manufacturing "laboratory" was done in Charleston, SC. There seems to be only one other item the company made: Flip-it finger moistener. There is a trade journal from February 1920 with an introductory ad for the product. " 'Clarotype' dissolves all dirt and ink accumulations in the type and is guaranteed not to corrode or injure the metal. An extremely small amount of the liquid is necessary for cleaning purposes and because it is sold at the extremely moderate price of 50c per container, it carries a particular appeal to the average dealer who will find it a very essential typewriter accessory." ~ Could they write ads back then or what? Anyways, The Annual Report of the Commissioner of Patents shows the patent issued on August 10, 1920 patent no. 133,935 v. 277; p. 386. That's about all I know. You have a great lil blue bottle there and its in great shape!
My grandfather, Dr. George MacF. Mood, invented the preparation, Dr. Leon Banov was a primary investor, and they partnered in several projects. Mt grandfather has other patents, in the medical field. One thing he invented was special forceps that holds the eyelids open during eye surgeries and some more minor proedures. He donated that to the public domain and that design is still in use over 100 years after he fabricated the first pair.
Sadly, I was born in 1956, and Grandfather got to know me as an infant, but died in January of 1957 from, bacterial pneumonia. I have no way of knowing how many patents he held, but he was said to be a prolific inventor. Only a very few patents he held were for profit, Clar-o-type and Flipit, a finger moistened for shuffling through papers.