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I found it at an auction in a box lot 20 years ago or so. I jokingly tell people it's a suppository when I hand it to them, just to see their reaction. It's roughly 2" long. The top and bottom unscrew. One side is metal and has cork material in the center. The other side is hollow and made of brown glass. I get the impression that it's supposed to hold liquid, but I don't know. There are absolutely no identifying marks or makers marks on this.

https://pic8.co/sh/2mcU5y.jpg

https://pic8.co/sh/ZrQPUq.jpg

Any ideas?

I found it at an auction in a box lot 20 years ago or so. I jokingly tell people it's a suppository when I hand it to them, just to see their reaction. It's roughly 2" long. The top and bottom unscrew. One side is metal and has cork material in the center. The other side is hollow and made of brown glass. I get the impression that it's supposed to hold liquid, but I don't know. There are absolutely no identifying marks or makers marks on this. https://pic8.co/sh/2mcU5y.jpg https://pic8.co/sh/ZrQPUq.jpg Any ideas?

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[–] • 4 pts
[–] • 2 pts

vinaigrette vĭn″ĭ-grĕt′ noun A cold sauce or dressing made of vinegar or lemon juice and oil, often flavored with finely chopped onions, herbs, and other seasonings. A small decorative bottle or container with a perforated top, used for holding an aromatic preparation such as smelling salts. A small bottle or box used for carrying about the person some drug having a strong and pungent odor, commonly aromatic vinegar.

[–] • 1 pt (edited )

In this case they used vinegar to dissolve additional substances which provided a scent. They were used to mask odors in the environment or to rouse someone from a "fainting spell."

[–] • 0 pt

At an old plantation, somewhere in the south, before the 1860's!

"Hurry now Gideon and fetch the smelling salts. Mary Ellen has the Vapers!" And the old house nigger shuffles off to fetch your little "suppository".

[–] • 2 pts

Well I'll be damned

This is incredibly close to what I have. Maybe I have a cheaper version, as it doesn't seem to have ever had a chain and the glass has a moulded thread instead of a metal-to-metal thread. I believe the top to be silver.

Thank you!