This Vapo-Cresolen Lamp has been in the family since the 1890s. Cresylic acid was poured into the pan at the top which was heated by the flame. This vapor would infiltrate a room and was for alleviating or curing anything that ailed you in the respiratory system and throat. Its targets were asthma, whooping cough, scarlet fever, diphtheria and more. The vapor was also thought to sanitize rooms that had been used by the sick. Cresylic acid is derived from coal tar and petroleum. Obviously this wasn't the safest thing to be breathing in.