 The 

term plumbing fixture embraces not only showers, bathtubs,

lavatory basins, and toilets but also such devices as washing machines,
garbage-disposal units, hot-water heaters, dishwashers, and drinking
fountains.
  Toilets, urinals, and lavatories usually are made of stable porcelain or
vitreous china, although they sometimes are made of glazed cast
iron, steel, or stainless steel.
 The flush toilet was invented in 1596 but didn’t become widespread until 1851. Before that, the
“toilet” was a motley collection of communal outhouses, chamber pots and holes in the ground.
During the 11th-century castle-building boom, chamber pots were supplemented with toilets
that were, for the first time, actually integrated into the architecture. These early bathrooms,
known as “garderobes” were little more than continuous niches that ran vertically down to the
ground, but they soon evolved into small rooms that protruded from castle walls as distinct
bottomless bays (such a toilet was the setting for a pivotal scene in the season finale of "Game
of Thrones"). “Garderrobe” is both a euphemism for a closet as well as a quite literal
appellation, as historian Dan Snow notes: "The name garderobe - which translates as guarding
one's robes - is thought to come from hanging your clothes in the toilet shaft, as the ammonia
from the urine would kill the fleas."

Fixtures:

Bathing, from the early 19th to the early 20th centuries, required stamina and fortitude. Without indoor
plumbing, bathing involved filling small portable tubs with water, bucket by bucket. This, as well as
different attitudes about cleanliness, meant that few people fully immersed themselves in water.

1840-1880

1. Foot tub
- DESCRIPTION
- According to 19th–century physician John Bell, pains of the head, teeth and eyes would yield
to the foot bath.* Cold water and constant rubbing of the feet while in the bath helped to
dispel illnesses as well. The Boston–based Dover Stamping Company's catalog of tinwares
advertised foot tubs that matched toilet wares such as toilet jars, carriers, and pails.
- The tubs came in extra finish, gold band, paneled (painted decoration with flowers, grape
leaves, or cherries), plain, or marbleized painted oak or walnut. This brass and tin foot bath
with decorative handles of bearded faces and a reeded edge was more elaborate than any
of those advertised. For more information on bathing and bathtubs in the 19th and early
20th centuries, please see the introduction to this online exhibition. *John Bell, A Treatise
on Baths, (Philadelphia: Lindsay and Blakiston, 1859): 298.
- LOCATION
- Currently not on view
- DATE MADE
- 1840 - 1880
- MAKER
- unknown
 - PLACE MADE
- United Kingdom: England
- PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
- brass (overall material)
- tin (overall material)
- MEASUREMENTS
- overall: 10 3/4 in x 25 in x 18 in; 27.305 cm x 63.5 cm x 45.72 cm
2. Hat Bath tub (1860 – 1900)
- DESCRIPTION
- In the early 20th century Sears, Roebuck & Co. Inc. continued to advertise the hat–shaped
bathtub for $4.20 in their catalog. In 1900, for five cents more, one could purchase a
“Combination Bath Tub,” a cross between a sitz and a hat tub. Though an awkward–looking
contraption, the advertisement claimed that there was “nothing better made in a tin tub.”*
- This hat tub likely had years of use. Though well worn, traces of the first green coat of paint
can be seen beneath the second layer of beige on the tub’s exterior. The Sears 20th–century
example notes that its 3-X tin bath was japanned and varnished on the outside. For more
information on bathing and bathtubs in the 19th and early 20th centuries, please see the
introduction to this online exhibition. *Joseph J. Schroeder, Jr., ed., Sears, Roebuck and Co.
Consumers Guide, Fall 1900, (Northfield, IL: DBI Books, Inc., 1970), 920.
- LOCATION
- Currently not on view
- DATE MADE
- 1860 - 1900
- mid 19th Century
- MAKER
- unknown
- PLACE MADE
- unknown
- PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
- tin (overall material)
- iron (overall material) paint (overall material)
- MEASUREMENTS
- overall: 22.5 cm x 10.5 cm x 95.3 cm; 8 7/8 in x 4 1/8 in x 37 1/2 in
3. Sitz Bath tub (1860)
- DESCRIPTION
- A bath in a sitz or sit tub was said to provide relief from inflammation of the brain and
organs of the chest, as well as nervous fevers.* The bather sat partially immersed up to the
navel, in cold water with the head supported at the back and the feet dangling over the
edge.
- Physician John Bell wrote A Treatise on Baths in 1859 in which he defined baths by the
manner of water application to the body, by the bath’s temperature, and the parts of the
body immersed in water. He categorized such a bath taken in this type of tub as a
semicupium (lower half of body), cold (40°–70°), immersion type. This tin tub, now worn and
unattractive, shows evidence of a fomer beauty. Hints of red paint beneath the current chips
 of cream indicate that it was a red tub, with cream–colored striped accents on the base and
a cream interior. The arm rests, ending in bold scrolls, lend elegance to the form. For more
information on bathing and bathtubs in the 19th and early 20th centuries, please see the
introduction to this online exhibition. * John Bell, A Treatise on Baths, (Philadelphia: Lindsay
and Blakiston, 1859): 295-296.
- LOCATION
- Currently not on view
- DATE MADE
- ca 1860
- MAKER
- unknown
- PLACE MADE
- unknown
- PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
- tin (overall material)
- paint (overall material) iron (ring material)
- MEASUREMENTS
- overall: 23 3/4 in x 25 in x 33 in; 60.325 cm x 63.5 cm x 83.82 cm overall: 62 cm x 68 cm x 65
in; 24 7/16 in x 26 3/4 in x 165.1 cm
4. Closet – Folding Bath Tub (1880 – 1900)
- DESCRIPTION
- With daily bathing becoming more accepted by the 1880s, many attempted to develop
innovative ways to heat bath water and to incorporate the portable bathtub within a room
setting. The Mosely Folding Bath Company advertised a folding bath in the 1895
Montgomery Ward Catalog. This tub, disguised as a mirrored wardrobe, folded down and
out of its wood casing into the room, revealing the heater above.
- This was similar to Bruschke & Ricke’s combined sofa and bathtub of the same period. The
sofa’s bolster concealed a water tank and heater, while the seat unfolded to reveal a
bathtub. Often, large rubber aprons protected the wood or carpeted floor. Accounts of
igniting sofas and burned bathers dampened the product’s appeal. Since neither bathtub
attached to plumbing nor pipes, used bath water drained into a basin and then required
emptying. For more information on bathing and bathtubs in the 19th and early 20th
centuries, please see the introduction to this online exhibition.
- LOCATION
- Currently not on view
- DATE MADE
- 1880-1900
- MANUFACTURER
- Mosely Folding Bath Co.
- PLACE MADE
- United States: Illinois, Chicago
- PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
- wood (overall material)
- iron (overall material) glass (overall material) tin (overall material)
 - MEASUREMENTS
- overall: 24 in x 62 in x 26 in; 60.96 cm x 157.48 cm x 66.04 cm

Showers:

1. Ribcage shower
- Turns out the rib cage (or needle) shower was a luxurious bath fixture made of chrome in
the early 20th century that featured such technological advances as lower shower sprays
and a temperature gauge. Though lovely to look at, the rib cage shower requires a huge
amount of water to be operational because it has the additional lower sprays uncommon to
most showers. It may have gone out of style because the single head at the top of any
shower is enough to clean the body sufficiently.
- This might help explain the rarity of antique showers today, especially the ribcage or needle
showers. They were mainly only found in a very few affluent homes. And owners of such
homes also were more likely to upgrade and modernize their homes on a fairly regular basis.
Brass has always been a highly sought after commodity, so these showers did not tend to
hang around once removed from their original installation. They were scrapped out for
brass, and lost forever. Such a shame. So finding an original is rare indeed.
- A needle bath or needle shower directed jets of water all round the torso. Sometimes the
water flow could be adjusted, and a particular setting was promoted as a liver shower or
bath, supposedly offering a stimulating massage for internal organs. Its energising effects
were considered more suitable for men than women. Needle showers were marketed to
gentlemen’s athletic clubs as well as private houses. Some people call them cage showers.
2. Antique body shower
- Here is a unique Body Shower, Shampoo unit that would have been on the wall above a
built-in bathtub with a shower curtain over it. Body Spray U-Bar, and Shampoo control and
outlet with a hook for the hand sprayer head. There is no provision for overhead shower.
Very nice early look to this super rare assembly. The manufacturer, The Meyer-Sniffen Co of
New York may have been the very best quality maker of plumbing goods in the USA 110
years ago. Price - $600

Fittings:

1. Pompeii House Valves

- In Pompeii, water was delivered through the lead piping to public fountains, public baths,
businesses and individual private houses. Having water delivered to a house was considered
a luxury and was an indication of the social status of the house owners. Only a small
percentage of the private houses in Pompeii received water into the house. In homes, the
water was on full display by the use of distinctive and artistic water features. Valves In a
Pompeii House Connected Into a Lead ManifoldValves in each individual house controlled
the flow of water to each of the water features. Most valve assemblies were like that shown
in Figure 5. WPI has been studying the water use in a specific house in Pompeii called the
House of the Hanging Balcony. The water feature in this house was a marble statue of a
small boy with water coming out of his hand into a clam shell with water cascading from the
clam shell into a base. The water feature also had two water jets that fell into the same
 marble basin. The low water pressure was perfect for the water feature in this house. The
valves that controlled the flow to these locations were fabricated onto a lead pipe manifold.
The entire assembly, shown in Figure 5, was placed at the foot of the water feature. This is a
remarkable example of the know-how of the engineers of that era. One can marvel that the
Roman valve design from more than 2,000 years ago is strikingly similar to our modern
design.

Toilets:

1. Victorian era:
- Beautiful flawless pedestal urinal dated 1924. To be used with oak high tank or some other
tank or flush mechanism. 30" tall at back, 24" at front lip, 16" long base. Price $1900