Sulphur

Sulphur is a yellow substance – one of the element substances. It is sometimes known as brimstone. We have a bottle containing some at Market Lavington Museum.

Doctor Lush’s sulphur bottle at Market Lavington Museum

Here we see a glass jar with ground glass stopper and a label saying ‘sulphur sub’. Some of the yellow powder is within the jar. The jar was found in the attic of Doctor Lush’s old house. Doctor Lush retired from his role as local doctor in 1921 and had been very highly thought of. He’d have used the sulphur for the treatment of skin diseases or as a fumigant.

We have a blog about the good doctor. You can click here to see it.

As far as we know the ‘sub’ after the sulphur is short for sublimate. Our bottle is a good reminder of past medical practices.

Advertisement

Vapo-Cresolene Vaporizer

Let’s begin with an image. This is a Vapo-Cresolene Vaporizer.

The Vapo-Creolene Vaporizer at Market Lavington Museum

What a work of elegance! There is a simple paraffin burner designed to heat a substance to produce a vapour. The vapour was said to be health giving and, as the somewhat worn box says, ‘to cure as you sleep’.

The burner has a small glass paraffin tank.

But having the box for this item really makes for interest.

We can see that the manufacturers claim effectiveness for treating whooping cough and got their device registered in various countries towards the end of the 19^th century.

Some science to tell us that using Vapo-Cresolene is the only way!

Look at all these ailments the device treats.

This device and original packaging probably date from around 1900.

Absorbent Cotton

A number of medicaments from the First World War era have come to the museum from Rose Crouch. This pack of absorbent cotton is an example.

Absorbent Cotton dating from the First Workld War era given to Market Lavington Museum by Rose Crouch

This is a cube like package – about an inch cube but it contains a quarter of an ounce of compressed cotton. It dates from about 1914-18 and no doubt would have been the kind of stuff used for emergency, albeit minor, first aid during the conflict.

Mrs Crouch was born as Rose Hiscock in 1904. She was the youngest of ten children born to James Hiscock, a house painter and his wife Amilea. Eight of the ten were still alive at the time of the 1911 census Rose had older brothers who fought for their country during World War One.

Perhaps some of the boys came home to recuperate from injuries – for it seems it would have been this Hiscock house on High Street, Market Lavington that had the stock of medicaments and first aid gear.

We will soon be preparing for the 100^th anniversary of the start of World War One. We have received some personal stories about Market Lavington folk, but we still seek more.

Can you help?

Doan’s Dictionary and Almanack – 1903

Doan’s backache and kidney pills were all the rage 100 years ago. Apparently, they still exist although without any reference to kidneys. For the medically minded the active ingredient is magnesium salicylate which makes these pills non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs.

We have no such medicaments at Market Lavington Museum. What we do have is a marketing item which found its way to the Gye household back in 1903. It is a small paperback book containing a calendar, a dictionary and much propaganda about the benefits of Doan’s pills.

Here’s the front cover of what was an annual publication.

Doan’s Dictionary and Almanack for 1903 can be found at Market Lavington Museum

Inside we can discover that Doan’s pills were made in a modern, hygienic  factory.

Drawing showing the up to date factory where Doan’s pills were made.

And then there is the dictionary from which we pick one entry – the gramaphone.

It’s not how we spell gramophone – but do come and hear a similar aged phonograph at the Market Lavington Museum Miscellany on September 15th

Well maybe the gramophone was spelt that way back in 1903 and maybe across the pond in the USA. But this gramophone is our sneaky advert for the Museum Miscellany, in a few days time on 15^th September.

We will be listening to music played on a device of a similar age, but actually a phonograph which plays cylinders rather than discs. Be at Market Lavington Community Hall at 7.30pm on Saturday 15^th September to see and hear more of the history of your parish of Market Lavington and Easterton.

A First World War Medical Kit

Today we look at a tin containing its original contents – medicaments.

A First World War medical kit which can be found at Market Lavington Museum

This little tin was produced by Burroughs Wellcome and Co of London. The Wellcome name is still well known in the medical field.

As we can see, the tin contains Castor Oil, for the eyes. Protective Skin, Tincture of Iodine and Carron Oil for burns and scalds.

This collection was the property of Mrs Rose Crouch. Rose was born Rose Brown Hiscock in Market Lavington. She first saw the light of day in 1904. Her parents were James and Amelia and they lived on High Street in Market Lavington. Rose married Henry G W Crouch in 1934.

Rose was widowed in 1957 but she remained a Market Lavington person. She died in 1987. Both Rose and her husband are buried in the Market Lavington churchyard.

It is believed that young Rose volunteered for the Voluntary Aid Detachment  towards the end of the first world war – she’d only have been 13 or 14..

The Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) was a voluntary organisation providing field nursing services, mainly in hospitals, in the United Kingdom and various other countries in the British Empire. The organisation’s most important periods of operation were during World War I and World War II.