Origin of "flamer"?

[Jesse Sheidlower]

On Thu, Dec 14, 2006 at 12:59:02PM -0600, Rowan McMullin wrote:
> I have a reference to "flame" as a slang term for any venereal disease,
> particularly gonorrhea.  Richard Spears' dictionary of slang and euphemism
> places this use in the 1800s.  Can anyone confirm or deny this?

It's in Farmer & Henley; one can only assume that Spears found
it there and included it in his book. (F & H do not provide
any citations for this sense.)

Jesse Sheidlower
OED

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