Pieces of the Past

The patent syphon

Syphon, 19th century.

 

The Patent Syphon solves a problem that most of us no longer face: it was invented in response to the difficulties of uncorking an ink bottle each time an ink well needed refilled. Instead of pulling a cork out of the mouth of the bottle, the gutta-percha stopper could be turned within a cork lining.

 

This aligned the holes in the stopper with the holes in the neck and lining of the bottle, and allowed ink to flow freely out the spout as air entered the bottle through the hole opposite. Although the top part of the gutta-percha stopper is missing from this bottle, the lower part remains in the neck in the closed position.

 

In a different situation the gutta percha and cork might have rotted away, but this bottle was discovered under the floorboards of a house, an environment that preserved these materials well.

 

Gwendolyn Jackson, 2015.

Is an archaeology graduate, artefact specialist and our office 'Super Gwen'.