Joachim Schult trans Inge Moore, Curious Boating Inventions,Taplinger Publishing Co, 1974

STRING OF RUBBER-COVERED CORK PIECES TO BE USED AS A LIFE-SAVING DEVICE

It is certainly more confidence-inspiring than the 'sausage-seller' [at right], who is wearing a string of cork shapes sewn up in rubberized cloth and covered with soot to make them water-repellent. "The individual cylinders are tied off with tarred twine and impregnated to make them water-repellent and non-inflammable. The person wearing the device can be either clothed or naked."