Numerous strange baby devices came out in the early part of the 20th century, and nearly all of them looked like medieval torture devices. It truly was a wonder that the infant mortality rates were not even higher than they were and that the human population did not extinct itself with its desire to raise babies hands free.
Holding Baby’s Bottle Safely
In the parlance of earlier days a “bottle holder” was a person who officiated as second to a fighter in the prize ring.
It would seem, however, that the term is otherwise applicable – as, for example, in the case of a novel contrivance credited to Albert A. Lockwood, of New Haven, Conn. It is designed for the use and comfort of babies, and particularly to save trouble for nurses and mothers.
It is a holder for the nursing bottle, meant to be attached to a crib or baby carriage in such fashion that the nipple of its rubber tube is always accessible to the hungry infant without help from anybody.
The device is a flat crossbar, to be placed across the crib or baby carriage and secured to the side rails thereof by strap loops. In the middle of the crossbar is a trough-shaped cavity made to fit the nursing bottle. The cavity is deeper at one side of the bar than at the other, so that the bottle may be comfortably tilted toward the baby’s head, allowing all of its contents to run out in response to suction.
The bottle is secured in the trough by a pair of straps and buckle.
Source: Grand Forks herald. (Grand Forks, N.D.), 03 June 1921.
