Older engines used updraft carburetors, where the air enters from below the carburetor and exits through the top. This had the advantage of never
"flooding" the engine, as any liquid fuel droplets would fall out of the carburetor instead of into the
intake manifold; it also lent itself to use of an
oil bath
air cleaner, where a pool of oil below a mesh element below the carburetor is sucked up into the mesh and the air is drawn through the oil covered mesh; this was an effective system in a time when paper
air filters did not exist.
Your googling is substandard
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carburetor
that is what you wanted right?