I have been reading the comments on medical syringes with much interest and
can comment on the syringe type with the plunger tip wrapped with cotton
thread.  I have been researching the artifacts in Dr. Hatchett's Drug Store
Museum, a collection of late 19th century and early to mid-20th century drug
store products.  One of my favorites was a product used for treatment of
gonorrhea and gleet with the unlikely name of "Special Pigeon Milk".  The
red cardboard package contained among other things a syringe of the type in
question.  It had a glass tip and was not designed for injection into the
skin.  Instead the directions instructed the unfortunate user to inject a
solution (also provided) into the urethral orifice of the penis 5-6 times a
day.  Other instructions to the patient was to "Live well but do not use a
drop of spirituous liquors, or coffee, or spiced foods, and as little
tobacco in any form, as possible, none if possible, and avoid ladies'
society, and sustain from any sexual excitement, absolutely, until entirely
cured."  The product could be accurately dated because the base had two tax
stamps that were only issued and required from 1898 to 1900.  The
manufacturer was a Dr. Rust of the Rust Medical Company of Philadelphia and
St. Paul.  For the pleasure of this treatment, the consumer was charged two
dollars a package.  (Sorry, Julie, we are veering away from your original
question and syringe, but I couldn't resist telling this story.)
-----Original Message-----
From: Daniel H. Weiskotten <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Sunday, August 05, 2001 9:57 PM
Subject: Re: MEDICAL SYRINGES


>Many years ago in an old house in Central New York (Upstate) I found
>several glass syringes that were not for needle injection, but were clearly
>enemas.  They were exacly as several people described, glass tubes, with
>glass plungers, the end wrapped in twine to form a seal when wet, a cork
>with hole in it to plug the top opening.  The only difference was that the
>business ends had several small holes like a watering can spout to diffuse
>the fluid.  In the deposit I also found a very decayed rubber tip, almost
>like a small baby bottle nipple, but which was more like the tip of a
>turkey baster.  While several baby bottles were also found, this tip did
>not fit any of them (was not the usual nipple form, either) and therefore I
>surmised that, since it would have fit perfectly over the tip of the enema
>syringe, it was an adapter for a secondary usage - I hazard to guess what,
>though.
>
>I dated the deposit through contents and historical documentation to the
>1890s, and assign it to the superannuity of two residents, the wife who
>died in 1892 at the age of 86 or the husband who died in 1898 at the age of
>93.  Also found were several medicine bottles including a local drug label
>for laudenum, a couple dozen bottles of Dr. Bull's Cough Syrup, cattarh
>pills, etc.
>
>A small selection of baby bottles, children's toys, including a tin horse,
>gun, doll parts, magazine clippings of lithographed childrens' subjects,
>and parts of a doll tea set, could be associated with the grandchildren who
>were born and lived in the extended household between 1882 and 1905.
>
>A few years ago on some now anonymous project I found a brass syringe which
>was exactly the same in virtually every way shape and form as the glass
>ones I found in the old house.  No temporal context was determined.
>
>        Dan W.
>
>
>
>
>CRCG (formerly RAM) from New Brunswick, NJ excavated a doctor's privy which
>AI believe dated to around 1876.  This privy had a load of glass syringes
>in it.  Richard Veit wrote an article on the privy in CNHA's bulletin a
>while back but I don't known if mentioned the syringes as they were not the
>focus of the article.  But as the excavator and lab supervisor at the time
>I remember they were very large.  I have a glass syringe that I picked up
>at a flea market.  The tube is clear (4") but the plunger is cobalt blue
>and at the end of the plunger it was wrapped with cotton thread (I think
>this swells when wet thus producing the suction needed for it to work.  The
>other end goes through a cork which can be removed for filling.  The end of
>the glass tube has a black hard rubber tip attached.