Bottle and case from a Robert Ellis's mixed vapour inhaler for alcohol, choloroform and ether mixture anaesthesia by Savigny and Co., London, 1870-1910

Robert Ellis (1822-1885), a British obstetric surgeon, developed this inhaler in the 1860s at a time when the safety of chloroform was in dispute – the substance had been linked to a number of deaths. In his inhaler, alcohol, ether and chloroform were vaporised to be used as a combined anaesthetic. Rubber tubing connects the brass chamber to a mouthpiece through which the vapours could be breathed.

The Chloroform Committee of 1864 claimed that the use of a depressant (chloroform) could be counteracted by stimulants (ether and alcohol). Intended for use in surgery and childbirth, Ellis’s inhaler never gained mainstream use. This example was made by Savigny & Co.