New-York tribune., 1884-12-07
ORIENTAL LUXURY IN BATHS
TURKISH BATHS BECOMING POPULAR
RAPID INCREASE IN TIE NUMBER OF HOUSES AND
or PATRONS.

.rlooso rccis,er name and address sir. Leave yonr
valuables AT tho desk. We are not respons'p'' 'o'
them otherwise" was the formula 50 familiar 10 'ne
cars of the frcqucntcrs of Turkish bathing establish
nonts in this country, which greeted iIuhUNL r.
porter again and again he made the ROUNDS o' h'"9
all the wc-knovn places Yesterday.
"ycs inc business Is growing slowly said the pro
nrict pr of an uptown bath when inquiry was mao' ""
that point. People are beginning to take more
common sense view of life and to extract from 'i
the ease and luxury that they can, and.whcn they run
ocro.s place where two or three hours sn'o o,
F bciore the invention Of he tailor can be enjoNoh
rr dollar and quarter they are pretty sue to come
,coi, We never Lose q ba'hcr. Even If he holds on
for month or two from press oi business or any otc'
rca.ou be Is pretty 10 turn mp again at the eS'
on of that time The great trouble Is IN getting 'n''
70 hegin People seem 20 have nm idea that 'h'N ''
g. .,lic,,d ~ nn-t tremendous kcclhauling; thai
hc,e g. danger of ianng IN the hot room ot oi hn'lh'
hoir rib. broken under the shampoo. some 'fa''h,@
have r,cn the rubic highly colofcd nata'i'c' o' '"'
,,caiir ~ vhich ,hcy iocci,el IN The baths q" 'o0
| s~r,irotic vhcfc the attendants make y = sWrN
,4,. "a rs,a-e etttt iotcirnot failing into t'r't
t.,i. rolit W mtsette Np Er'irti ttru'iii.h
Va,tirr. tsetttr uN W. M''ht hoW 'Nt nh'h 81 '''
.s itf n,,i ~ te e8NH''t a't Nft'Ntl Nn' tW'''
,s ~ leatr, ~ 43 riaesH' sa 'N N'r'
rItt,,.u lflfa Arn" Rni iAe pNDr'AN AZ fi''"F
oi auuthfr haiu, aup'leg dNDiN Ah wl,all a'N'''
,Lc n,st hath iu ,te ei4, api lhuk 'he art p"' N
,hc country Ia the basement % lho oii w. rrNf
Hotel IN lai-hi g. II s til there aad mn ba ea'rH
thc cradle of lmksh bathing IA tl'a country lot N'''
the m,u who are now running sNa baths IA lhS '""
either cities served their aplnrniiceshlp there NO"
there m IL ,ound score of place IA this city aud halt
dozen in Htooklyu There are at fair estimate in''
or i've thousand regular patron, distributed among
thc twenty IN Ncw-York On our books you will hnd
tbc names of bankers, merchant. and brokers. men
whose scd,niary existence aud high living render the
bath necessary Ia their comfort. The constantly reour-
ring autographs Of DR. {. Il. Agncw ana oih''
phy cians show that are not tlhoocd by the l'%'
lars Of the medical profession and although the n''n
is taken most frequently for pleasure II Is often reg"
nrly prescribed. Every establishment has furnished
room he placed at the disposal of patients w.o Wish
tn take a r,rulnr course of the urdCatrd baths.
tour of the various baths IN the cif reveals thc cN-
iscncc of three general classes those ln the southern
and eastern part of the city tho lcds elaborate III
their fittings In some oi them the couchcS, pl"hE'
hath shampoong slabs and cashiers desk are an
crowdcd ino one large room 10 which the hot room Is
an insignificant appendix The price i iity cents
rising as one goc- uptown on the east side 10 d"ilar
The habiiua bathcr will. however, olien get b,ltr
satisfaction here than i'll the more lXurio' baths ne
is not umplcasanty affected 10y dHeoi0ftd walls anu
| slightly musty odor given by age and use in tuc
ncthl orhood of Broadway and forlicth-st there Is
another cluster OF baths wcll-Gttcd mp AID moderate
in price. The most elaborate of all are those near
Broadway above Twenty -thirds Here are to he had
the pleasures derived from soft couchc, thick carpets
and rich angngs. for dollar and quarter or dollar
and half with much n BE as the haiher is rr'H'a
To give the attendant And expert nee teaches mat IL
is not wise 10 stint that unctonary. he contents" "i
2 cafe bar and cigar counter are placed AT cohlnAhI
hy electric belle etc Some of these places are ttcd
np for the Russian bath alone, and some Tor TIC
| Turkish but the majority combine the two. Ia the
Russian bath the hot room j. filled with steam wich
by it, condensation keeps the temperature down 10 IV
dcgrces Fahrenheit while the perfectly dry ar oi thc
hottest room in Turkish bath sometime, goes up :"
$50 degrees or 200 degrees Fahrenheit Some OF the
baths are for men only. others haV" separate apart
Tor women and still others ha,lne oH' one sci
! of apaifmcnt- reserve certain hours for each sex
" Don't you have pretty lively times cca-ionaily
asked the writer of an attendant. "Suppos' eraik
OF drunken should get in among You
"Oh. We charge extra for drunken men. replied thc
attendant. d" Thc funniet thing that ever happened
here iwhcn painter working in the hot room went
ont by the wrong door. empying himself and two pots
of paint into the plunge bath. The mixture of cro0n,
old oycrll+ and two kinds Of paint produced tint
| which must bc seen t. be apprcci' ted"
Much of the literature the suhicrt of the turkish
bath owes lis origin to those Who a'c financially III
tcrc.icd i'm the success OF the baths As such IL s ot
course t. Ice regarded with certain gree oi sccpti
ci,n I'm order 70 get the opinion of high and di-in-
tcic.tcd medical authority III lhc natter lr. Nhham
hammond was called upon. I'm response 10 tl" qics-
tinu. + the Turkish bath always beneficial On IT.
| ce.ct- W Dr. Hammond said "l The Turkish bath a.
general, beneficial o person in good health Always
l. word vhi. never occurs ln 20 ph' -l'4l Fpf""+-
! larry Thus the ayman might .ag that strawberries
| were always hc1lthld. h1t the physician knows mat
! tain persons. viii produce most 'io'.nt c'p''n OIL
! thc skim ! am justified in saving thrn, that i'c
! Turkish bath Is generally hor .ial although have
| known cases in which a serious d"aneri9'h 2i ile
| boo, IS functions has resulted from single hal
"In shat eases are the bath most inlniou,'
IN all c..rs w ..fc There j. tendency ~ h"it d'--
c,.c Mon ha,c died IN the bath from the arer'fa
,io, Of thi. trouble proltccd hr H. No one should
enter thc hot iaom i,r thc ti time without having
." A.. roi a patron Of ~ Turkish bath o. go ;h,