Clover-type portable ether inhaler

Clover portable ether inhaler, English, 1877-1910

Joseph Thomas Clover (1825-1882) first described his inhaler in 1877. It was the earliest inhaler designed to regulate the dose of an anaesthetic, in this case ether. About 30 ml of liquid ether would have been placed in the nickel-plate reservoir, with a rotating water jacket surrounding the ether to prevent it getting too cold. The patient then breathed in the vapours through a face mask connected by rubber tubing. Inhalers of this type were still in use during the Second World War.