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Art Deco Glass Canopy Bath. 1930s. With Body Jets. Will fit in left- or right-hand corner.

£ 1,500

Quantity in stock: 1

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1930s Art Deco Glass Canopy Bath. Rare.

Overhead shower and horizontal body-jets.

Formerly in a museum. An easy restoration.

Dimensions: Length 73 inches. Width 29 inches. Height 94 inches.

(Metric: 185c/m x 74c/m x 239c/m respectively).

DESCRIPTION:

A magnificent and rare ‘Canopy Bath’ or ‘Shower Bath’. The lucky user has the choice of having a bath, an overhead shower (from a huge rain-head) or being squirted by hundreds of horizontally-mounted body-jets.

This is the kind of piece one might expect to find in a fine and grand Art Deco house; in the 1930s this was a seriously expensive item. Until recently it was one of the larger exhibits in the former Thomas Crapper Museum (see below). It is in original condition, just as when it was removed from a house around twenty-five years ago or more. Originally there were glass sheets in the three sides of the canopy part.

Once restored, the retail price in a specialist’s shop would be somewhere around £12,000. I estimate the costs of restoration to top standards would be be around £3,000.

DESIGN:

It was manufactured by John Shanks & Co. of Barrhead, Scotland around 1935. The tap block (mounted on the left of the bath)) is of solid chrome-plated brass and has ceramic indices on the tap heads. Between them is the control which allows the user to change from filling the bath, to overhead shower or to body jets.

The shower ‘booth’ similarly is made of chrome-plated brass tubes and fittings. The vertical tubes have dozens of holes which operate as body-jets. Note there is a telescopic curtain rod on the left-hand side of the canopy: this is held in place with clips and a single bolt and it is designed to fit on either side. CORRECTION TO MY PREVIOUS LISTING: THE CURTAIN RAIL AND THE SIDE-PANEL WILL FIT ON EITHER SIDE OF THE BATH, SO IT CAN BE INSTALLED IN THE LEFT-HAND CORNER OF A ROOM OR IN THE RIGHT-HAND CORNER.

DIMENSIONS:

From the floor to the top of the shower arm: 94 inches. Width: 29 inches. Floor to top of the bath: 23 inches.

Overall length : 73 inches.

(Metric equivalents, respectively: 239c/m; 74c/m; 58c/m; 185c/m).

CONDITION:

It is in need of full restoration but it is in remarkably good condition. For a a canopy bath, this will be a fairly easy restoration. The bath itself has surface rust on the exterior but the base iron casting is sound.

The enamel has dulled as it was stored outside for a time; this needs cleaning and then re-surfacing. This cold-sprayed type of finish is very effective if you get the right firm to do it; alternatively you could have the bath and the side panels vitreous enamelled. I can advise on all this.

The tap mixer and canopy pipework and fittings are in good condition but to look very smart they will need stripping, polishing and re-plating. Lastly new panels of toughened glass should be fitted in the sides of the canopy; these are not expensive.

When fully restored, the combination of glossy enamel, gleaming chrome and sparkling new glass panels is a great sight!

SUPPORT:

After forty years of restoring antique sanitaryware I can advise you on how best to do all the work, or I can put you in contact with several specialists who could do some or all of it for you.

VIEWINGS:

If you would like to view it in person do get in touch. Please see my other listings of rare antique baths, which I will be adding to over the next few days and weeks. In addition I have hundreds of original antique loos, washbasins, taps, cisterns, trade catalogues, framed pictures and advertising which I will not find time to list individually but potential purchasers are welcome to come to see what is available. I have included a few snaps of some of the other pieces in the museum, all of which must be sold.

COLLECTION:

Collection only, in person or by courier. The canopy bath and the other contents of the former Crapper Collection are stored just outside Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire. It is on ground level with good vehicular access. The bath part is very heavy; a van with a tail-lift is recommended. I regret I have badly damaged my back so I am unable to assist with lifting the bath.

FROM THE FORMER THOMAS CRAPPER MUSEUM.

This is just one item from what was once the largest collection of antique sanitaryware in the country; perhaps anywhere. For many years I owned and ran the famous old firm, Thomas Crapper & Co., established in 1861. When I sold the business nearly ten years ago I retained what used to be the company museum.

Mostly assembled in the 1980s and 1990s, it was a private collection which was seen by relatively few customers and people in the trade. It comprised loos, basins, baths, cisterns, taps, accessories, trade catalogues, salesman’s samples and advertising ephemera; all by many different manufacturers, including Shanks, Bolding, Twyfords, Doulton, Jennings and Crapper to name a handful.
After extensive efforts failed to find a buyer for the whole Thomas Crapper Collection I am dispersing the contents.
It is an opportunity never to be repeated!

Please note this is not a business, I am selling the contents of my museum.

Truly Reclaimed

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