University Health Network - Academy of Medicine Collection
Category
Patient Care Artifacts
Hygiene
Classification
Patient Care
Hygiene
Sanitation
Bedpan
Home Health Care
Accession Number
1978.24.1
Description
French pattern, undecorated white earthenware bedpan of the "slipper" type; it has a round hole and tapers at the bottom, with a spout poitning upwards at the other end.
French pattern, undecorated white earthenware bedpan of the "slipper" type; it has a round hole and tapers at the bottom, with a spout poitning upwards at the other end.
Number Of Parts
1
Provenance
Acquired from the Academy of Medicine; source: Miss Helen Cronin of Toronto. This item came from a drugstore in Northern Ontario (St. Mary's); Miss Cronin's father, an engineer, took over the drugstore in payment of a debt.
L. B. Beerbower & Co. was established in 1879 and closed in 1902.
Material
earthenware: white
Inscriptions
Printed in black on base around the perimeter of a circle: "L.B. BEERBOWER // WARRANTED"; inside the circle is what looks like a four-pointed cross.
Permanent Location
Storage Room 0007
0007-N1-3
Length
39.4 cm
Width
29.2 cm
Unit Of Measure
centimeters
Dimension Notes
Length 39.4 cm x Width 29.2 cm
Condition Remarks
Glaze is crazed
Copy Type
Original
Reference Types
Website
Article
Books
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/
Stephen A. Brighton, "Historical Archaeology of the Irish Diaspora: A Transnational Approach," University of Tennessee Press, 2009. https://books.google.ca/books?id=4p07hjxezAcC&dq=l+b+beerbower&source=gbs_navlinks_s
United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Finance
U.S. Government Printing Office, 1894 - Tariff, "Bulletin, Volumes 6-8." https://books.google.ca/books?id=rjLPAAAAMAAJ&source=gbs_navlinks_s
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.
This bedpan style is a "slipper" type, later referred to as a fracture bedpan and can be slipped under the patient. The spout is to facilitate washing it out. Fracture bedpans are smaller than standard size bedpans, and have one flat end. This bedpan style is designed specifically for patients who are bedridden and have limited movement to use a standard style bedpan.