15 Year Mystery, and a long story.......Syringe?

[dkw]

First a little history on the item(sorry for being long winded).

This was found at a mid to late 1800s home about fifteen years ago. I worked for the ranch that had the pasture that the home stood on. We had a tornado come through and it peeled the rotted tin roof off of the house and exposed the old wooden shingles. While cleaning up the mess, I noticed the tube end of this item sticking out from between the shingles. I was wedged in between the layers of shingles and appeared to have been there for a great long while. The home was located in Central Missouri. The last person to live in the house was killed on Wednesday, January 4, 1961 at 9:15pm by a train. He was said to have parked on the tracks and waited for it.

The item in question is a tube with a threaded cap and a hollow plunger with what appears to be a leather cup type seal at the bottom. I would guess it to be made of brass and it was plated at one time. There are no holes in the body of the tube. The leather seal is dried out but the item was obviously used to draw or disperse fluid. I just have no idea what.

 

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Or the nipple unscrews and a tube screws onto the thread..

 

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[doublet2a]

Looks like some kind old old grease gun. The nipple would be where you filled the tube up with the grease or lubricant. Like a grease nipple in car, let the grease in but not out. And the other end is missing...


Tim

 

[Mackaydon]

15 (or was it 20??) years ago, I found a shipwreck with similar devices. The wreck was dated in the 1860s and contained a British shipment of supplies destined for a swank hotel in Galveston, Texas. The item(s) similar to yours had a thumb ring (like on a syringe) at the end where the two 'wings' are on your device.

I had to give you the background before offering the suggestion that your device is a 19th century vaginal douche syringe somewhat similar to one found here: (Scroll down to this caption: "A rare c. 1860 pewter vaginal douche with anthropomorphic nozzle. The instrument is pictured in Henry Smith, M.D., The Principles and Practice of Surgery, 1863, Vol. II, pl. LVIII, fig. 20. The caption reads: Chase's vaginal syringe.)

Source: http://images.google.com/imgres?img...l+douche%22+antique&gbv=2&hl=en&sa=G&ie=UTF-8

Don....

 

[mrs.oroblanco]

Looks like a meat injector.

When they used to hang hams and cow quarters, etc., for smoking or preserving, they would inject the meat with flavors and things like saltpeter.

It came in three parts - the barrel, the plunger and a needle-type thing that you inserted inside the barrel, and the end would come through the hole.

I cannot find a picture of an old one, but they still use them.

 

[johnnyi]

dkw, this thing is definately bizzaro. The nipple is opposite of a grease gun, and appears more like a grease nipple itself. Maybe it had another flexible end attached to that round nipple for access to something hard to reach? The distance between the "t" that your forefinger and middle finger would press against is a long distance from the base of the object where your thumb would rest. Is it possible that the "t" was free floating and would ride at any closer distance to the cylinder and stay in place by unequal pressure? Is it frozen in place? At least if it is free floating that might explain the distance, as it could be moved along the shaft as fluid, grease, or whatever it contained was injected and be possible to hold with one hand.

 

[Scott (Mich)]

We used one similar in size for worming sheep when I was growing up. The sheep did not like the taste of the worm medicine so I would help my dad once a year worm all of them.

You take a small pail of the pre-mixed wormer, stick the syringe in it and pull the finger grips so liquid is drawn up into the body of the insrtrument, then you stick it in the sheep's mouth and squeeze a little bit in. They would swallow it and then you let them go. Most times dad would grab the sheep, sit it on it's rear and I would hand him the loaded wormer. If I remember right we would be able to do 3-4 sheep per refill. The wormer instrument we had had an opening about the size of one you would see for the cake frosting squeeze things and it had CC measurements on the shaft where we could make sure to give out the right dosage.

 

[stefen]

Actually, it looks like a door closer

 

[jimbob450]

I think it was used to shoot pills down cows throats. Jimbob

 

[montepollock]

Air pump for white gas stove/Lamp?

 

[mrs.oroblanco]

I'm pretty sure it is NOT a bolus gun, mostly because the pill (bolus) has to fit into the end, and the hole looks really kinda small, and because bolling guns usually are very long.

 

[doublet2a]

Air pump for white gas stove/Lamp?

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm,, now that's a good thought

Tim

 

[dkw]

Thanks for all the info. So far, it looks like a bicycle pump is the most likely identity. A lantern pump was my first thought when I found it. The only problem, How could it pressurize anything other than the tube body?

I've used bolus guns more times than I can remember. I don't see any way this could be one.

Several of the ideas would be feasible if the tube body had an opening in the end opposite the "finger levers". This one doesn't.

I looked it over again very closely with a loupe. There are no markings that I can find.

Keep the ideas coming. I'm enjoying pondering the possibilities.

 

[johnnyi]

dkw, doesn't a pump need some air intake in addition to an outlet?

 

[Silver Searcher]

dkw, doesn't a pump need some air intake in addition to an outlet?

I think there could be a needle type end missing :P it looks like an old football pump, when the balls used to have a bladder inside :P

SS

 

[dkw]

dkw, doesn't a pump need some air intake in addition to an outlet?

Very good point!! I hadn't even thought of that. I guess you could remove it from the tire and draw back to get new air. Although, I can't see someone building a pump like that.
One other thing is the light construction. I would expect a pump to be somewhat sturdy. This is thin brass. Think cigar tube and you'll have roughly the same size and thickness. I probably should have mentioned that in the beginning.

 

[johnnyi]

Ha! where do you get that "knocking your head into a brick wall" smily face? I could have used that a few times today
I was wondering if it was light construction, which probably eliminates the grease guess also. Let me know something though, is that finger grip something loose that can travel along the shaft?

You know what, if that "finger grip" thing is not free floating, then maybe it isn't for fingers at all? Maybe it presses against the outside of what ever it is being pushed against. Man, I can think of a few things that kind of system might fit, but the nurled end seems a little dangerous for some of them (unless it accepted some kind of rubber extention over the ball.) I'm leaning towards jimbob's guess about cows, but not down the throat.

 

[mrs.oroblanco]

Anything put in the other end is done by hand (with glove attached).

Like dkw, I've given more bolus to more different animals than I like to remember - I just cannot see it being one of those.


Some meat tenderizing nozzles have that kind of fingerhold. Of course, so do larding needles.

 

[intimer]

indoor plant spritzer?
someone guessed grease gun how about oiler?
someone said rubber hose attach to zerk like fitting--how about to clear out clogged veins?

and i just have to add:
booger remover for baby

 

[aaaaaaa]

Similar
http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-1920s-lozier-brass-bicycle-pump

Wasn't this link good enough evidence? Looks very similar...

As for air intake, I believe it would be through the non-airtight hole in the cap that the plunger passes through..

If its for grease or any other liquid, what use is the spring?

 

[johnnyi]

aaaaa, you are right. I didn't see your picture (couldn't bring up links yesterday). as well, there could be a one way valve in this gizmo so air didn't go back into the pump. Although it looks like a really lame way to blow up a tire, it is what it is, it looks like your's, and I'm voting for your guess. Nice research!