University Health Network - Academy of Medicine Collection
Category
Patient Care Artifacts
Hygiene
Classification
Patient Care
Hygiene
Sanitation
Bedpan
Home Health Care
Accession Number
1981.31.1 a-b
Description
Enamel-covered cream metal bedpan which consists of: (a) bedpan with an open top and looped handle; the bedpan has a wide lip with a blue edge and circular opening covered by a round enamel-covered metal lid (b) with a rounded handle in the centre.
Enamel-covered cream metal bedpan which consists of: (a) bedpan with an open top and looped handle; the bedpan has a wide lip with a blue edge and circular opening covered by a round enamel-covered metal lid (b) with a rounded handle in the centre.
Number Of Parts
2
Part Names
a - bedpan - Size: Length 45.0 cm x Width 10.5 cm x Diam 32.3 cm
b - lid - Size: Depth 4.4 cm x Diam 23.7 cm
Provenance
Acquired from the Academy of Medicine.
Dates
1900
1930
circa 1900-1930
Material
enamel: cream, blue
metal: brown
Permanent Location
Storage Room 0007
0007-N1-2
Condition Remarks
Several rust spots inside pan; some staining on lid
Copy Type
Original
Reference Types
Website
Article
Reference Comments
American Association for the History of Nursing, https://www.aahn.org/bedpans#:~:text=Porcelain%2C%20china%2C%20and%20even%20pottery,enamel%20and%20then%20stainless%20steel.&text=Today%20these%20antique%20bedpans%20are,be%20found%20in%20antique%20stores.
Cassandra Good, “The Strange Saga of George Washington’s Bedpan,” August 20th, 2015. Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/strange-saga-george-washingtons-bedpan-180956347/
Research Facts
Before the late nineteenth century, bedpans and similar objects were made of metals such as pewter, brass, and sometimes even glass. By the late nineteenth century, porcelain, china, and pottery were used. As the 20th century dawned, bedpans, urinals, basins, etc. were made of enamel and later stainless steel. In the 1960s, there was a shift towards plastics and other disposables.
The bedpan was designed for people who could not or should not rise from their beds to relieve themselves. A bedpan could be lightly heated and placed under the covers of the beds of the elderly, people who were ill, and women recovering from childbirth so that they would not have to get out of bed. They were routinely emptied by caregivers, nurses, etc.