By creosote one usually means coal tar creosote, although there are creosotes of other origin. For example, wood tar creosote is a product of wood distillation. It is, in fact, in this connection that the word 'creosote' was first used. Early in the nineteenth century the oily product obtained by distilling wood was said to have an odour which resembled 'smoked meat'. The name creosote was derived apparently from the Greek words 'kreas' meaning meat or flesh and 'soter' to save or preserve. The value of coal tar creosote as a wood preservative was originally suggested in 1836 by the German chemist Franz Moll (British Patent 6,983) who gave the substance its name, although as early as 1716 the American Dr William Crook, who took out the first wood-preserving patent recorded in the United States, had advocated a preservative which contained "the Oyle or Spirit of Tarr" for preserving ships' planking against shipworm and decay. It was John Bethell in 1838, however, who promoted its wide spread use by his patent for the impregnation of timber with tar oils, including the newly discovered creosote, by means of vacuum and pressure (British Patent 7,731). Since Bethell's full-cell process was invented, coal tar creosote has been used extensively throughout the world for the preservative treatment of timbers for various purposes, such as railway sleepers, electricity and telegraph poles, fence posts, farm timbers, cooling towers, and marine timbers. Consequently the literature on this subject is extensive and, to some extent, repetitive so that for practical reference purposes it is essential that selective surveys and bibliographies be prepared. Many of these exist such as, for example, the reports (Numbers 0156, 0292 and 0396) issued by The Coal Tar Research Association, England. The following bibliography, listing the more important sources of information on coal tar creosote and its use as a wood preservative, has been prepared by Working Group III of The International Research Group on Wood Preservation and is based on the CTRA reports and also on a list provided by the Bundesanstalt für Materialprüfung in Berlin-Dahlem. The bibliography is preceded by introductory remarks on the various aspects highlighting important points and suggesting topics for further research work.

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