By Kerry Knight
One of the greatest
philosophical question has always been, "Where did I come
from?" Or, if you're more the
intellectual, "From whence did I come?" We all love ORIGIN stories.
 |
| Pot |
Around the
19th century, bathtubs became the product of tinsmiths, the tubs often being
formed out of copper or zinc. In
progressive houses with water heating devices, some had tubs made of lead
sheets in a coffin like wooden box . For
those today who know the dangers of lead poisoning, the idea of a coffin box
was somewhat prophetic.
We actually
owned a 19th century tub made of zinc in a rectangular box of mahogany. It was show piece, but not very practical
since it was only about 48 inches long.
While transporting it from one warehouse to another, it was left on the
trailer too long and someone proceeded to steal it. I'm sure they had no idea what they had. Maybe it should have been made of lead.
 |
| English: Kids bathing in a small metal |
Someone came
up with a not-so-bright idea of a portable canvas tub, much like the pot-bellied cot. We can all see through that
one. No pun intended.
There was
even the Mosby Folding Tub. You know,
like the Murphy bed that fold's up.
Again, not a winner.
In the late
19th century, tubs were cast in iron and copper, but problems of rusting and
corrosion was a real handicap. In the 1880s,
J.L. Mott was among the first to solve the problem. The result was the porcelain enameled, cast
iron, footed tub. In addition, the
ubiquitous claw foot type style is still working well for thousands of people
today.
In the 1920s
the vitreous surface inside was all white, but the cast iron exterior was often
painted, with colors, stripes and even designs like Greek frets. Foundries became quite talented at creating
designs for the feet, such as eagle claws, bear claws, lion claws and more traditional
designs.
The original
foot tubs came in a variety of lengths and designs. Most were 60 inches in length with an oval
shape and rolled edges. Then came the
slipper tub with the high arched back and dual sloping ends that make it
perfectly symmetrical.
Because some
people complained about cleaning behind the footed tub, the ringed or skirted
tub was created with the oval pedestal base, instead of legs. This gave the tub a majestic, almost regal,
look.
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| Slipper bathtub in Amsterdam store window. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Today, the
old cast iron foundries are gone in the US.
But you can still purchase these beautiful pieces of 19th century
art. They are still made in many parts
of the world, and a few U.S. companies import and stock them for their
customers here.
An ad
appeared in a retail catalog back in 1910, which read, "Why shouldn't the
bathtub be a part of the architecture of the home?" Many are finding that to be good advice, even
a hundred years later.
In this article, I
shared with you the history of bathtubs. How they have come from chamber
pots, to lavishly decorated status symbols and finally the state of the art modern day bathtubs. If you found this article useful or enjoyable,
please pass it on to your friends and neighbors. If
you have a comment, leave it in the Comment section below. If you have a
question, feel free to contact me at the number or email listed at the end of
this article.
Alan & Kerry Knight are the
owners of Tub King, Inc and SeniorBathtub.com in Jacksonville Florida. Together they have many years of
experience in the antique and senior bathtub industries. Their companies not
only provide superior products they are also award winners, winning the best of
Jacksonville Chamber Award three years running. If you would like to contact them
call (800) 409-3375 or (800) 843-4231 or email them at alan@tubking.com.
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