Of those products, this Vapo-Cresolene vaporizer fits between Pond’s Bitters and Liquozone in terms of its potential harm. Originally patented in 1880, it vaporized cresolene, a sticky, dark liquid with a pungent odor made from coal tar that was used in the 19th century as a surface disinfectant. In this earliest version (electric models were sold into the 1950s), the foul smelling phenol was heated in a small dish above a miniature kerosene lamp and the fumes were touted to treat ailments from asthma and catarrh (allergies) to whopping cough, scarlet fever, diphtheria, and measles not to mention coughs and colds, all with “germ destroying” capabilities.
The problem was that it was used frequently in small and improperly ventilated rooms such as nurseries and in hospitals. The American Medical Association first noted in 1908 that it could poison and kill if enough creosolene was inhaled. The vapor was strong enough to supposedly kill any flies, mosquitoes, ants, roaches, lice, bedbugs, or other insects foolish enough to get close to it. An example like this one was also displayed as a deceptive and worthless medical device by the Federal Food and Drug Administration at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. It served no useful purpose other than to make users feel like they were doing something about an uncomfortable cough or nasal congestion, not unlike (but much more harmful) modern-day vapo rubs. Since it smelled so bad, it was also used in outhouses, “water closets”, and musty places like cellars and crawl spaces to help cover odors. Why waste $1.50 on a child’s cold?
The bottle of cresolene included with this example mentions the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act but no subsequent dating appears anywhere so we’re dating it to the latter 1900s and 1910s, before newer patents were issued and printed on boxes. Other examples also cost more than $1.50 US and Canadian price listed on this box. The included bottle still contains some dregs of cresolene (“Caution: Poison if Taken Internally” it advises). Since the kerosene lamp has never been used, it is our educated guess that this example is the equivalent of new original drugstore stock (NOS). The cresolene missing from the bottle has probably evaporated over the years. The only missing part is the bottom of the box (perhaps the cresolene condensed on it), invisible when the box is sitting on a solid surface like in a display. Few other examples still have their cresolene bottle or are in the same pristine condition.
Everything needed to use this “medical wonder” are included: the kerosene lamp with original milk glass chimney, pot-metal stand and lamp holder, vaporizing dish, bottle of cresolene with original label, and original box. The box itself measures 6.25 x 3.5 x 3 inches (16 x 9 x 8 cm). The stand is 6.25 inches (16 cm) and the bottle is around 4 inches (11 cm) tall. A perfect addition to all displays of useless medical devices or patent medicine collections. Other examples are in collections such as the University of Virginia School of Nursing. The tiny kerosene lamp is ever so cute apart from the rest of the device and the cresolene bottle is wonderfully Victorian/Edwardian with a clever pull ring attached to its cork. Would fit perfectly into any recreated drugstore or old-fashioned medical display, doctor’s office, surgery, dispensary, et. al. or as a simple curiosity, especially in a kerosene lamp collection. Shipped carefully packaged and insured. Check out our other general and drugstore collectibles at www.ebay.com/str/agitpropshoppe
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