bubble pipe: Mary Lu Soap Bubble Set

We do not know who blew the first soap bubble, but they appeared in Flemish paintings during the 17th century. During the 1865 holiday season, A. Ladd manufactured and marketed a toy bubble solution based on the scientific solution invented by Belgian scientist Joseph Plateau. Alfred Bird, an English food manufacturer and chemist, marketed the Rainbow Bubble solution just a year later. “The Pharmaceutical Journal and Transactions, Volume 8” touted the Rainbow Bubble noting that it made “magnificent spheres, 24 inches in circumference, and the most gorgeous prismatic colors.” A 1929 advertisement for the Mary Lu Bubble Set noted "down in the soap...b-l-o-w...and have a beautiful rainbow tinted bubble to toss in the air!" The set included two clay pipes, a glass bowl, and four tubes of various colored soap powders and sold for 98 cents.