The expanded use of kerosene in the mid-nineteenth century led to a search for ways to test the volatility of petroleum products, to reduce the incidence of accidental fires. Giuseppe Tagliabue, an Italian immigrant working in New York, invented a flash point tester in 1861. The C. J. Tagliabue Manufacturing Company produced many instruments of this sort. The inscription on this example reads ”C. J. TAGLIABUE MFG. CO. 1385 PATENTED AUG 7, 1917 - AUG 13, 1918 MADE IN U.S.A.
Ref: Charles J. Tagliabue, “Closed Oil-Tester,” U.S. Patent 1,236,123 (Aug. 7, 1917), assigned to the C. J. Tagliabue Manufacturing Company.
Charles J. Tagliabue, “Oil-Tester,” U.S. Patent 1,263,145 (April 16, 1918), assigned to the C. J. Tagliabue Manufacturing Company.
Arthur H. Thomas, Laboratory Apparatus and Reagents (Philadelphia, 1921), p. 451.
C. J. Taglibue Manufacturing Co., TAG Manual for Inspectors of Petroleum (1946).
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