1840 - 1880 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
- Object Name
- tub, foot
- date made
- 1840 - 1880
- maker
- unknown
- 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
- place made
- United Kingdom: England
- ID Number
- DL*67.899
- catalog number
- 67.899
- accession number
- 269842
- subject
- Bathing
- Family & Social Life
- Domestic Furnishings
- Portable Bathtubs
- Bathtubs
- See more items in
- Home and Community Life: Domestic Life
- Bathtubs
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
- Credit Line
- Estate of DeWitt C. and Juanita Ramsey
- Additional Media
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