Vintage 1930s Embalming Pump

This device was used to pump preservatives into fresh corpses to slow down the spoiling process.

Once the mortician made a few cuts, the nozzle would be inserted into the body cavity, pumping in chemicals like formaldehyde.

The pump was powered by electricity and would be connected to a jar of embalming agents, and a waste jar. If pumping fluid in didn’t work, they would suck the old fluids out to pull the embalming agents in.

Depending on the concentration of the chemicals, bodies could be preserved anywhere from just a few days to two years after death.

Believe It or Not!, embalming didn’t become popular until the Civil War when warring factions wanted to transport bodies home to families for burial.

After the war, undertakers just used ice to try and keep bodies from rotting. It wasn’t until the availability of pumps like these that morticians were able to easily embalm the deceased.