Vintage Chemistry Sets Show We Used to Be Way More Chill About Chemicals

This kit dates to 1847, and it's less a toy than a kit for serious students and amateurs. Its creator, John Joseph Griffin, wrote a 556-page manual to go with it. Photo: Jared Soares/WIRED

This kit dates to 1847, and it's less a toy than a kit for serious students and amateurs. Its creator, John Joseph Griffin, wrote a 556-page manual to go with it.

Griffin's book, Chemical Recreations, extolled chemistry as "an everlasting source of occupation and amusement." Photo: Jared Soares/WIRED

Griffin's book, Chemical Recreations, extolled chemistry as "an everlasting source of occupation and amusement."

The cover of this Chemcraft kit from 1917 may have inspired would-be chemists with its images of science and industry. Photo: Jared Soares/WIRED

The cover of this Chemcraft kit from 1917 may have inspired would-be chemists with its images of science and industry.

The Chemcraft kit included an impressive selection of chemicals and equipment. Photo: Jared Soares/WIRED

The Chemcraft kit included an impressive selection of chemicals and equipment.

The boy and the chemist he would become were a common trope on 20th century chemistry sets, like this one from around 1952. Photo: Kristen Frederick-Frost / Chemical Heritage Foundation Museum

The boy and the chemist he would become were a common trope on 20th century chemistry sets, like this one from around 1952.

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Vintage Chemistry Sets Show We Used to Be Way More Chill About Chemicals