Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! Here we have both a club and tear gas grenade in one item. The two clubs as seen in the box above and below are Federal Laboratories Tear Gas Batons also referred to as “Billy Clubs” in their advertisements from the 1920s. That being said, they were made from the later 1920s and into the early 1960s and actually and oddly saw wide use. The way they work is simple. The main role of the Federal Laboratories Tear Gas Baton is to be a baton or club first and foremost. If things get dicey then the user can press the switch forward to fire the tear gas cartridge loaded inside. This would either produce a spray or mist depending on the cartridge inserted. These were likely produced with riots or large crowds in mind. The switch has a large wall on either side to help prevent misfires.
Lot 803: Two Boxed Federal Laboratories Tear Gas Baton. (n.d.). Rock Island Auction Company. photograph. Retrieved September 4, 2022, from https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/2014/803/two-boxed-federal-laboratories-tear-gas-batons.
