Rockwood / Kingston Psychiatric Hospital / Providence Continuing Care Centre Collection
Category
Patient Care Artifacts
Classification
Patient Care
Accession Number
000003099
Description
Bath thermometer, which consists of a narrow flat piece of wood with a rounded bottom and a top piece that curves inwards, then back outwards to create a handle with a rounded outer edge; the handle section has a small hole drilled through the wood; the front of the wooden piece has a long, narrow …
Bath thermometer, which consists of a narrow flat piece of wood with a rounded bottom and a top piece that curves inwards, then back outwards to create a handle with a rounded outer edge; the handle section has a small hole drilled through the wood; the front of the wooden piece has a long, narrow groove cut into the wood, which has a rounded bottom; this is designed to securely hold a glass thermometer; the thermometer is cylindrical with a rounded top and a bulbous bottom; the thermometer has red fluid inside it; there is an incremental scale stamped onto the wood in ink beside the thermometer; the thermometer is held into the wood with two small thin metal bands; the back of the wooden piece is flat and has writing on it.
Number Of Parts
1
Provenance
Used at the Kingston Psychiatric Hospital for continuous bath therapy water monitoring.
Dates
1906
circa 1906
Date Remarks
Continuous bath therapy used at Kingston Psychiatric Hospital from 1906 until the 1940s
Material
metal: grey
wood: beige
glass: clear
Inscriptions
The front of the thermometer has a manufacturer's mark (mostly illegible) that reads, "A [illeg.] // H [illeg.]"; under this is an incremented scale with numbers on the right side that read, "65 // 60 // 50 // 40 // 30 // 20 // 10 // 0 // -5" and the lefts side of the scale reads, "C° // HOT // WARM // TEPID // TEMP // COOL // U.S."; the back of the wooden piece reads, "Wd. 3. K.W"
Permanent Location
Storage Room 0010
0010-F4-4
Dimension Notes
Length 5.1 cm x Width 22.8 cm x Depth 1.3 cm
Condition Remarks
The wood shows some wear and some staining, but is complete; some of the printing is illegible; the glass is complete and undamaged; the metal bands are discoloured but do not show active corrosion; #2: Note: contains mercury.
Copy Type
Original
Reference Types
Book
Person
Reference Comments
Rockwood Asylum 1906 Annual Report; "125 Years Keeping People Healthy Kingston Psychiatric Hospital," by Jane Lesslie, 1981, p. 28; Connie Cox, retired KPH nurse.
Research Facts
Continuous bath therapy was used at Kingston Psychiatric Hospital from 1906 until the 1940s; nurses or attendants were required to check the water temperature every 15 minutes.
Exhibit History
On display, Providence Continuing Care Centre: "Rockwood Asylum: Refuge and Renewal 1878–1905" from Feb. 13, 2007 to 24 Nov 2016. In plexibox 1 of exhibit "Asylum" The Story of Kingston Psychiatric Hospital, Dec. 5, 2000.