Cabot's Sylpho-Nathol

[snow farm]

Greetings all!

I live in Maine and recently bought a property with numerous household dump sites. Today I came across a Cabot's Sylpho-Nathol bottle with a threaded metal lid. The lid was quite degraded, and it crumbled when I gave it a twist. I wanted to have a sniff of whatever was inside - a clear liquid. It smells strongly of petroleum distallate.

My query is..........what was Sylpho-Nathol? What was it used for? Approximate date?

I am having issues with re-sizing my photos and am unable to post a photo. The details of the bottle are:

In raised print on the lengthwise face of bottle is "Sylpho-Nathol," under this is "Cabot's," and lastly, under this is "REC. U.S. PAT. OFF. BOTTLE MADE IN U.S.A."

It's a #2 bottle, as printed on its bottom.

I've found lots of cool bottles here, and while I'm no expert, no, far from it!, I can tell that different eras are represented. My coolest find is a wee little bottle with a plastic lid. It contained a bit of liquid and when I opened it for a cautious niff test, I realized it was perfume...a nice perfume, at that!

So, lots of fun. I am looking forward to checking out this site, and when I solve my technology issue with photos, I will try and post some pics of my finds for your perusal!

Thanks in advance for any info, speculation, or rank opinions! maureen in maine

 

[snow farm]

Dude! Google is your friend! I just answered my own question, duh! Well, the Cabot website did.

Smacks herself upside the head!

"Under Cabot's inventive leadership, the company would go on to develop many other outstanding products including a coal tar-based disinfectant called Cabot's Sylpho-Nathol [...]" (www.cabotstain.com/about-us.html).

Duh..........................and, no wonder it stinks!

 

[coboltmoon]

Cabot's Sylpho-Nathol was antiseptic and disinfectant even used as douche.

Your bottle is probably from about 1920ish. There are older versions that are cork top blown in a mold.

In Maine your bound to find a lot of Bakers, Foss, and True’s bottles, others are harder to find. Welcome to the forum.

 

[snow farm]

Hey, coboltmoon - thanks for the welcome. I believe I have found Foss & True bottles, though the bottle stash is in the garage, and I'm not.

As for the Cabot's Sylpho-Nathol...I shudder to think of anyone using it as a douche...***shudder*** The thing stinks, still. I had to put it outside.

Peace. maureen

 

[beendiggin]

I love the script on the earlier Cabot's, but I agree with you..the smell is bad. I have one in my collection and it stays corked. Even washed out those Cabots reek. There's a lot of Mainers on this site, so you'll get a lot of info on maine bottles if you ask. Happy hunting and welcome.