I agree with Patrick. Without seeing a picture; it sounds like some sort of lubricating oil can. Sewing machines, bicycles, and typewriters all needed some form of lubrication. A small oil can could be used in the tight spaces of a relatively small machine. The proprietary name on the can is probably a local retail company providing a complementary product to increase customer loyalty. I wonder if it held Whale oil?
Dan Martin

________________________________________
From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Patrick Martin [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, January 11, 2011 5:39 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Spraycan?

Sounds like a pump-type oil can.


Sent from my iPhone

On Jan 10, 2011, at 6:03 PM, Sean Doyle <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Hello,
>
> I am currently working on some turn-of-the century homestead sites in northeast Colorado (USA) and have come across this confusing little item. I think it is the reservoir from an atomizer of some type, but I can't be sure and I wanted to pick the collective "Deep Thought" of the HISTARCH webspace.
>
> It is a cylindrical steel can that is 3" tall by 2 3/4 inches in diameter with externally overlapping stamped ends, a low profile threaded cone-like top. The closure, which is the unique bit, is a threaded steel cap with a rolled 1/2 diameter cylindrical steel tube that is set into the center and sheared off at the top. The cap has a reeded edge (like a US quarter) and an embossed, gothic script mark circumscribing the superior surface which reads "BLISH MIZE & SILLIMAN HDW Co. - ATCHISON - KAN."
>
> Some things I do know is the lid embossing tracks to the Blish, Mize & Silliman Hardware stores of Atchison, Kansas and Western expedition outfitting fame; so, the item cannot predate 1871. A search through trademarks yielded but one mark, which was not this one. Also, the bulk of sites within the area can be solidly dated to 1875 - 1915.
>
> I am iffy on any aerosol can hypothesis simply because it has the look of a cone top, not the torpedo like form of the early Rotheim type cans.
>
> Any help that is provided is greatly appreciated.
>
> Sean M.A. Doyle
>
> Historic Resources Specialist
>
> SWCA Environmental Consultants
>
> Broomfield, CO. 80021