The Officers' Bathtub

[Lester Mitcham]

Deck plans show "WC". The text of the Shipbuilder says "(private bath and) lavatory" [irrespective of whether they were in the same room or separate compartments]. Fare Rate booklets be they in pounds or dollars say "(private bath and) toilet".

I still find the idea of calling a wash basin a lavatory strange; but it seems in light of what was posted by E&H that Harland & Wolff did just that.

Lester

 

[Bob Godfrey]

Certainly when we see a reference to a 'lavatory' we can't be sure what was meant by the term, but that was the intention! All of this nonsense started back in the eighteenth century, when it first became fashionable to avoid direct mention of certain essentials of life. Just as Americans today refer to a wc as a 'bathroom', our forebears referred to it as a 'toilet', a word which had an established meaning as a ladies' dressing table where she might, for instance, 'powder her nose'. 'Lavatory' was another suitably ambiguous term and if I remember right, back in the '50s it was considered to be rather more genteel than 'toilet', but it seems now to be out of fashion. Glossaries of plumbing terminology generally now define a 'lavatory' only as a washbasin.

The time has come to end all this confusion. All you Americans out there, from now on stop referring to bathrooms and restrooms when you really mean a {deleted by moderator}. We all have to {deleted by moderator} and {deleted by moderator}, so we might as well do it in a {deleted by moderator}.
.

 

[Ernie Luck]

Bob

How about 'necessarium' or is it 'necessariam'?

 

[Shelley Dziedzic]

I have been practicing "Toilet" in the mirror, Bob, and am nearly ready to say it in public now. Don't forget, "Ladies' Room", Gents, powder room and washroom. I really like Necessarium, Ernie (toilets ought to be masculine I think).Mother Church has a lavabo in the sacristy, which is a small sink which empties in the ground for washing chalices and such. I bet lavatory was just a nice 1950's attempt to avoid the deadly toilet word. I am surprised Latin teachers did not cluck over this gross stretch of the porcelaine convenience! Then, one must also consider "toilet water", which I think, is a more diluted form of eau de cologne, itself being a diluted form of the more costly perfume- a whole new avenue for us to explore. For those who seldom submersed themselves in a steamy tub, I imagine this was a useful "freshener". Do we dare to contemplate the bidette? Remember SOS Titanic when Mrs. Astor mourned the absence of that fixture, musing Titanic was not a French ship after all!? Will delve into that right after I..er.. make a trip to the necessarium sanctorum.

 

[Michael H. Standart]

>>Do we dare to contemplate the bidette?<<

Only so long as it's not hooked up to live steam!

 

[Bob Godfrey]

Ernie, I rather like the traditional term 'house of easement'. Very descriptive!

Shelley, I too have been encouraged to use the word 'toilet' in polite company. But needless to say, the word I normally use is not 'bathroom'! The traditional meaning of 'toilet' has indeed survived in the use of terms like 'toiletries' and 'toilet requisities' (or, for Monty Python fans, 'requisititititites'
.

 

[Shelley Dziedzic]

Everything we wanted to know, but were too delicate, sensitive and refined to ask. I stand corrected on the spelling of "bidet". Now, to find out if the Normandie had 'em!!
http://www.cleanrite.com/html/historyofbidet.htm

 

[Lester Mitcham]

Shelley you missed out Cloak Room.

When going to the movies one encountered Powder and Cloak rooms. At Railway stations a Cloak room was for luggage. The exact purpose of Titanic's A-deck Cloak rooms exudes me. - Looking at the deck plans for the Shipbuilder there was also a large Cloak Room on C-deck.

 

[Shelley Dziedzic]

Pondering on Cloak Rooms I have known, they seem to be the place to drop off, for a brief time, umbrellas, capes, evening wraps, galoshes, sunshades and parasols,small bundles, hats,jackets, motoring veils, valises, rainwear, jackets and the like. Most genteel establishments for entertainment and enlightenment like opera houses, museums, theatres, fine restaurants, still have these delightful nooks, staffed by helpful matrons of goodwill in demure attire. I have a theory that this institution of the Cloak Room fell by the wayside when we all got "civilized" and abandonned hat-wearing, motoring veils and the like and decided to ramble in the barest minimum attire possible. Also, service is a word seldom heard these days. First and Second Class aboard any ship would have been well-acquainted with the refined service of the Cloak Room, and the comfort they offered to patrons. I expect those deciding to stride along the decks for exercise could park their athletic equipment, outer wraps, and the myriad odds and ends in these cloak rooms, thoughtfully located, and retrieve them later.

 

[Aly Jones]

I have notice that Captain Smith bath tub, does not have bath tabs attach to it,unlike the baths we have today which have bath tabs which run water straight in to the bath tub. So with baths on board the Titanic,did the bather had to run water in to a bucket to tip in to the bath? Is that how it went?. You can see no bath tabs on captain Smith bath tub!

 

[Bob Godfrey]

There are pipes and taps visible, but not necessarily still in their right positions above the bathtub - keep in mind that you're looking at wreckage.

 

[Aly Jones]

What? no way.It was not visible to my eyes at all.
Maybe those taps were for the sink.
You can see captain Smiths bathtub with animal paws feet as legs,those bathtubs with animal paw feet legs don't normanly come with taps,well thanks how i thought.You're an expert so i go with you, buti'm really shocked.

 

[Jeremy Aufderheide]

There's got to be somewhat to control the flow and temperature of water, Alyson. The tap would have been above the tub and the faucet handles would have been above that still...directly on the pipe. Probably compared to the industrial valve control on pipes in your basement.

(For future reference, the iron tubs with feet that resemble animals' feet are commonly referred to as "claw-foot tubs".)

That being said, I don't want to picture Captain Smith in the bathtub...claw-foot, flushmount, hipbath, barrel in the middle of the room, garden hose in the back yard or anything else. Thank you.

 

[Aly Jones]

Jeremy.I was just stating that i never saw the taps above the bathtub. I did say i believe him but i was just shocked.
I think in 1800's people would of used buckets to fill up there baths. I must of gotten confussed abit.

 

[Michael H. Standart]

>>I think in 1800's people would of used buckets to fill up there baths.<<

And in a lot of places they still would. However, plumbing was well in use and even expected on the liners, especially the crack express liners of the North Atlantic which were expected to have the latest in just about any innovation.