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  • 1.  help with artifact connection to WWII

    Posted 04-22-2016 11:53 AM

    I have a c. 1945 Larvex Sprayer (see images) with text that reads "WAR EMERGENCY SPRAYER."  I'm currently working on an exhibition on WWII and am wondering how this fits in.  One theory we've come up with is that, after use as an insecticide, the public was encouraged to empty it, clean it, fill it with water and use it as a fire extinguisher should a fire "bomb" land in their home.  But we can't find any documentation.  Does anyone have some concrete knowledge of this object?

     

    Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

     

     

    Dana Neitzel

    Curator

    San Mateo County Historical Association

    2200 Broadway, Redwood City, CA 94063

    Ph: 650.299.0104, ext. 230 | Fax: 650.299.0141

    dana@historysmc.org | www.historysmc.org

     

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  • 2.  RE: help with artifact connection to WWII

    Posted 04-25-2016 02:04 PM

    A Google search shows that this was a popular mothproofing treatment during the 1940s.

    One possible surmise was that the tag denotes use for emergency treatment of moth infestation.

    Many military fabrics were made of wool then.

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    Stephanie Qualls
    Curator of Exhibitions and Curator of Education

    Original Message