Flat-bottomed oval white porcelain slipper style bedpan with tapered sides towards the center with molded solid handle at the back; manufacturers information stamped on inside back
Flat-bottomed oval white porcelain slipper style bedpan with tapered sides towards the center with molded solid handle at the back; manufacturers information stamped on inside back
Printed inside bedpan: ""MEINECKE" // PERFECTION // BED AND DOUCHE PAN // THE MOST COMFORTABLE // AND SANITARY BED PAN // IN THE WORLD // FOR HOSPITAL AND HOME // U.S. PATENT JUNE 9 1907 // AND MAY 4 1909 // ALSO PAT IN GREAT BRITAIN"
Permanent Location
Storage Room 0007
0007-N1-2
Length
35.6 cm
Width
27.0 cm
Depth
9.0 cm
Unit Of Measure
centimeters
Dimension Notes
Length 35.6 cm x Width 27.0 cm x Depth 9.0 cm
Condition Remarks
Looks like new
Copy Type
Original
Reference Types
Person
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
Hotel Dieu Hospital School of Nursing Graduate, class of 1941, Mrs. Majorie McGlade (d. 2000) used bedpan while nursing her parents.
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.