From “Victorian Inventions” by Leonard De Vries published by American Heritage Press in 1972
For some time now the doors of shops, theatres, concert halls, etc. in Paris and other large cities have been equipped with metal bottles of various colours, carrying enamelled signs inviting passers-by and customers to spray themselves with some fine scent for ten centimes or some other coin. The mode of operation is quite interesting. The coin drops from slot A through a channel B on to platform C. If button D is pressed, the coin moves against cylinder F and pushes it into the hollow cylinder K where it serves· as a plunger, causing a displacement of the channel in the vicinity of F. This slight movement causes a small amount of air to escape through the space cleared above the channel and to enter tube T which communicates with the open air. Simultaneously, a few drops of scent flow from the receptacle L through the cleared channel into tube Hand from there into the open. When button D is released the cogs P which are placed in such a manner that they have to travel a certain distance before they engage the upstanding rims of cylinder F, release the coin and allow it to drop to the bottom of the metal bottle. The quantity of scent dispensed is regulated by the position of screw V.
For this series of posts I must say that this is a surprisingly sane and even probably working invention in the practical sense of the word – Ted
Retrorambling 