THURSTON, Howard (1869 ? 1936). Thurston's Perfect Breather Nostril Sizing Gauge. St. Louis: Thurston Mfg. Corp'n, 1926. Die-cut strip with nine disc-shaped gauges; once the wearer's nostril size was determined, the appropriate Perfect Breather (an anti-snoring device marketed by Thurston) would be distributed in the corresponding size. With printed instructions below the discs. Length 11". Reinforced at old central fold with mending tissue. RARE. From Ken Klosterman's Salon de Magie.As Thurston's biographer Jim Steinmeyer wrote, ?In 1926, illusionist Howard Thurston was granted a United States Patent for a ?Nostril Expander," which was marketed as Thurston's Perfect Breather. It consisted of two oval loops of wire, which could be inserted into the nostrils to hold them open during sleep, to prevent snoring. It seems to be the work of his co-inventor, Loyd Scruggs of St. Louis, Missouri, but Thurston attached his name and promoted the product in interviews and on his advertising cards: $1; $2 for silver wire; $5 for gold. None of them worked." (Genii magazine Vol. 88, No. 8.)