Three Victorian Anesthesia Dripping Bottles. From left in listing image:

1) Thomas with a leather covered bottle. 

“In 1866, the English surgeon and obstetrician Robert Ellis (1823-1885) introduced the first inhaler that mixed alcohol, chloroform and ether ( “A.C.E.”) The mixture was advocated by Sir Frederic W. Hewitt in the 1890s and 1900s. It was later recognized that the combination was more dangerous than the use of either agent alone.

Specially designed drop bottles for ether and chloroform were first introduced in the 1870s. By the 1890s, the design shown here was known as the “Thomas bottle”. A spring inside the cap, and a bayonet catch pin, allowed two settings for administering the drops. The same features helped to keep the cap tightly closed when not in use, to contain the vapor. This example of the Thomas bottle was designed for administering A. C. E. mixtures.” Wood Library

2) Maynard with patented cap. A good cased example of Maynard’s patent chloroform dripping bottle.Introduced in the last quarter of the 19th century, Maynard’s patent was still in use during the early decades of the last century, as evidenced by it presence in manufacturers’ catalogs of that period. Maynard’s patent relates to the stopper, which could be turned into an open (dripping) position or a closed one What appears to be a chip on the bottle rim is actually a notch used for alignment. This can be verified in the last image, a cut from the Arnold & Sons 1895 catalogue. The Maynard bottle came in various sizes and this is the smallest of them: 2 oz.. The height of the case closed (as in second image) is approx. 5″ or 12.5cm; diameter: 1.5″ or 3.75cm.

3) Esmarch.Friedrich von Esmarch (1823-1908)  introduced his dripping bottle in 1877 and it remained in use through WW1 and even a bit later. Esmarch dripping bottles, when they turn up today,  have often lost their chain and stopper, both of which are present here. The bottle shows no evidence of use and is frf cracks, chips, etc. This is the first Esmarch bottle we have encountered that was made in the USA. In fact, it  the first Esmarch bottle we’ve seen where the maker is indicated in the molding:  “JS MANUFACTURING COMPANY, BROOKLYN, NY”. We have not been able to locate any information about this company.