THE FIRST BATH IN AMERICA

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21250, 23 August 1934, Page 3

THE FIRST BATH IN AMERICA

ADVANCES SINCE 1842 MODERN BATHROOM FACILITIES I wonder if many of us realise what a comparatively recent development is that of the handsome and cleanly por-celain-enamelled bath which we Calmly accept as a matter-of-course detail of modern house furnishing? . A small item in a recent American magazine brought forcibly to my mind the enormous strides which have been made in very recent years in bathroom design, furnishing, and equipment, it stated: — , "In the year 1842 there was a great day in Cindnnati (Ohio). On that date Adam Thompson installed in his home the first bathtub ever made in AmeOne may imagine how the neighbour peeped round their window curtains as workmen carried m the pieces! how casual callers dropped in to be shown the mahogany marvel with its lining of sheet lead. Probably the propriety of such an exceedingly radical step on the part of the Thompson family formed a topic of conversation at many dinner tables of the vicinity." The Travelling Bath Probably many of the older generation will remember the travelling bath. This was a double shell of tmn galvanised iron, about 3i feet in length and 12 inches in depth, painted white inside and buff outside. It had a very sturdily-made, tight-fitting, but completely removable cover fitted wim hasps and strap loops. This type of bath was an indispensable part of the luggage of anyone who did any considerable amount ol travelling in Britain or on the Continent as recently as 30 or 40 years ago. While travelling, it served as a case for carrying extra rugs, clothing, or other travelling essentials. Arrived at a hotel or inn. the bath was unpacked, water was carried in in buckets or cans, and personal cleanliness achieved. Contrast this with the excellent bathroom facilities offered to-day, even in comparatively isolated parts of New Zealand.

Boon of Hot Water Service But the circumstance which gave the greatest fillip to bathroom beautification was the development of electrical water-heating systems. With the advent of electric hot water cylinders, as glossy white as the porcelain-fit-ments, or in pleasing contrast to their delicate colouring, and trimmed with chromium or nickled bands, the last vestige of necessity for ugliness in the bathroom disappeared. It is now not even essential that the hot water cylinder be placed in the bathroom if it is electrical. So adaptable is electricity for water-heatmg without need for flues or chimney, that it may be installed in any convenient niche'or cupboard and the hot water carried by pipes concealed in the wall to handsome chromium-plated taps and shower heads in the bathroom.

Cleanliness of Tiles With the elimination of the unsightly geyser which was for long the sole means of supplying hot water, for baths,' the bathroom has finally come into its own. Tiled walls, to four or five feet in depth, are the rnle to-day. with inset borders or motifs of contrasting coloured tiles which furnish the colour key for the room. The walls above, finished in impermeable glaze or enamel, are not affected by moisture or steam and their surfaces are as easily cleansed as that of a dinner plate. Good floors of magnesite composition, rubber, or cork tile laid inside a coved skirting and surround, are beautiful and sanitary. How amazed would Mrs Adam Thompson, of Cincinnati, have been, could she have gazed into a crystal and seen the 1934 version of the modern bathroom in far-off New Zealand, with its tiles, its vitreous china fixtures, its porcelain enamelware, its plate glass and chromium accessory beauties! She would" probably have been impressed first of all by its cleanliness, its shining walls, the one-piece fixtures and built-in bath defying any speck of dust to find a crevice in which to lodge. She would have thrilled to behold a room lovely as a boudoir, gay with colour, where every accessory and fitting, from the electrically-heated towel bar to the shower curtain is part of a harmonious decorative scheme. But she would be completely mystified and bewildered if she tried to explain to herself the source of that wonderfully soft yet completely efficient illumination which floods every inch of this attractive, useful room. And she would have been more inclined to accept as rational and true the tales of Aladdin and the wonderful genii of the lamp, than any attempt to explain that the water which gushed steaming hot from the gleaming taps and shower had been heated in huge cylinders by means of heat brought on slender wires from miles away!