Recommended reading

Privies and Water Closets by David Eveleigh

Although Thomas Crapper is most commonly associated with the invention of the flushing toilet, his models were in fact the result of a long line of improvements to earlier designs which date back to ancient times. This book is an ideal introduction to the history of the toilet, tracing its development from the primitive - and very smelly - privy maiden to today's one-piece, all-ceramic WC. Illustrated with superb photographs, this book tells the story of the lavatory, from the Elizabethan era to the modern day.

Bogs, Baths and Basins by David Eveleigh

This book takes a chronological look at the story of sanitation. With the aid of new research, the David Eveleigh briefly uncovers the early rather primitive sanitation devices, such as cesspits and urban dung heaps, and moves on to describe the advances that came with the onslaught of developing technology from the 17th to the 20th century. Victorian developments in water supply and the growth of piping and steam-powered pumps finally led to the comparative comforts of today. The progression of baths and washbasins is also followed, with evidence of their practicality rising as they became fixed, rather than moveable, eventually resulting in the arrival of the en-suite bathroom of in the 19th century. Featuring first-hand accounts and evidence from diaries and contemporary records, this book traces the history of inventions that have affected everyone throughout history. Hardcover 224 pages, Publisher: Sutton Publishing. ISBN: 0750927933

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Ceramic Water Closets by Munroe Blair

At the beginning of the 21st century civilised households around the world had at least one water closet. This British invention dates from 1592, but the first patent was not registered until the late eighteenth century. Although pottery was made by the earliest civilisations, the sanitary pottery industry has existed for only 150 years. Sanitary pottery has contributed directly towards improving health and helping to combat disease worldwide. For santiary and ablution purposes in early Victorian times wealthy householders used precious metal or pottery bedroom toilet sets. Efficient water closets, or WCs, from which waste is washed away to the sewers are now taken for granted, but in early Victorian homes this was far from the case. Water closet development mirrors the triumph of social hygiene over killer diseases in overcrowded cities. Paperback 40 pages Publisher: Shire Publications Ltd. ISBN: 0747804575   

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Bathroom Ceramics by Munroe Blair

This book traces the history of bathrooms over four thousand years and describes the development of ceramic products for washing and bathing. Changing styles of design and decoration are followed through classical, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, self-colour ware, the Victorian revival and into the twenty-first century. Paperback 40 pages. Publisher: Shire Publications Ltd. ISBN: 074780513X

Temples of Convenience by Lucinda Lambton

The Romans were the first to establish bathing in Britain, but after they had gone, the principle of cleanliness disappeared for 1000 years. Public bathhouses were reintroduced into Britain by the Crusaders, and remained until the reign of Henry VIII. It was in the 1800's that England began to produce an array of baths, wcs and wash basins. Today, bathroom design focuses upon the luxurious. This book contains over 150 images and captions on the designs the author has discovered. They include baths with hoods, baths decorated with shells, cherubs and leaves, lavatories entwined with acorns, swags and flowers, and designs in the shape of lions and dolphins.

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