Joseph Thomas Clover (1825-1882) invented the inhaler with which this face mask was used. The inhaler was used for chloroform anaesthesia.

Inhaling the fumes of anaesthetic was the preferred way of numbing the patient to perform painful surgical procedures. The patient breathed in the vapour through this face mask.

Joseph Thomas Clover (1825-1882) invented the inhaler with which this chloroform chamber was used in 1862. The Clover inhaler was never popular despite Clover demonstrating its successful use for regulating dosage – incorrect doses of chloroform proved to be lethal.

Using a syringe, 2.4 ml of liquid chloroform was injected into the chamber then heated by a vaporizer, which was attached to bellows that could pump sixteen litres of air at a time. This created a concentration of 4.5 per cent chloroform in air, enough to anaesthetise a patient within four minutes.

This syringe was used with Joseph Thomas Clover's chloroform inhaler. The design allowed for accurate measures of chloroform to be used for anaesthesia, as incorrect doses of chloroform proved to be lethal.

2.4 ml of liquid chloroform was injected into the chamber then heated by a vaporizer, which was attached to bellows that could pump sixteen litres of air at a time. This created a concentration of 4.5 per cent chloroform in air, enough to anaesthetise a patient within four minutes.