Photo and description are kindly provided by Dr. David Chinn, for an upcoming ARTP article.

“Sherrington Stirling Kymograph Recording Drum (C F Palmer (London) Ltd), c. 1955

A strip of paper the width of the drum is held above a smoking gas flame, the smoke from which settles on the paper to leave a surface of carbon soot. The smoked strip is wrapped around the drum and secured in place. The drum is set to run at a suitable speed (speeds available of 1, 10, 25, or 640 mm.s^-1) and a stylus from a water spirometer (or other physiological recording device) is held against the strip. The recording is ‘scored’ into the carbon surface. Afterwards a calibration mark is applied and the strip is removed and passed through a ‘fixing fluid’ to create a permanent record that, after drying can be measured. It was a convenient way to record physiological signals but could be a very mucky job!”