The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-12-11
From the New York Sun.

From the New York Sun.
 "HAT there is a great gulf between
 Turkish baths old style and Turk
 J ish baths up to date any New York woman will agree To be sure, when Turkish baths first came in fashion over here women paid $1 or so admission, just as their granddaughters do now. In that respect there has been little change. But, as an enthusiastic grandmother who
 thinks her weekly programme incom- plete without a Turkish bath, explained, woman used to get in and out again
 for a dollar or so, whereas nowadays dollar or so takes one in, but to get out again-well, that's another story, and it includes no holdup measures either.
 Paying out B, s4, s5 or more before leav- ing the bath, paying them willingly, too, indicates merely that ever so many al- turing trimmings undreamed of at the
 start have been tackled on to original
 features costing, like trimmings in gen- eral, quite a bit extra. In other words, the modern Turkish bath for women may
 include practically every known aid to
 improving and beautifying the figure
 and face, and half dozen or more va rieties of the bath are now offered to
 women, who mostly accept them with open arms and pocketbooks. Women who take plain Turkish bath and stop at that are fewever every year, bath at- tendants say.
 "Women are our best paying customers. They spend far more money than men do," candidly stated one proprietor Dr. Nancy, now 80 years old, and doesn't look it, who never in her life, she de- clares, wore puffs or a complexion out of bottle, says that in style and ap- pointments Turkish baths have changed remarkably since the first one was opened | in Manhattan 46 years ago down in Laight street by her husband, Dr. Ell P. Miller. Among our first patrons there were comparatively few very tall or very stout | women," she said. "I can't remember that any woman took the baths to lose flesh. None, at least, said she wanted to lose flesh. The few who came at first | had an ache or pain they wanted to lose | or because a husband a brother, or some other man had said that Turkish bath made one feel so good. In New York it was the men who started the fashion of taking Turkish baths, not the women. Tn those days I don't believe that | there was a beauty parlor in New York, much less one run in connection with Turkish bath, but the change set in soon after electric light baths and other nAr' things were added Womep wanted more and more waiting on. w. had 10 chars for hair shampoos, so many women waua
 ed them, and to have our bah onerat9ss taught massage.
 "Wealthy women got togethee sfa
 subscribed to have private hatia run for | their exclusive use, and phalc baths | even more complete, contanirg evry aid to beauty a woman could ase were opened and took so well tlat woma patrons have the sole use of them pola
 mornings and afternoons every ra tet Saturday and Sunday, and I al Had ia l know it.
 "Getting steadily more extrs aaants
 well, perhaps. But" continut l17
 Nancy, If every woman would toke one
 Turkish bath a week regularly tle niils lennium would soon come. SD q ne
 week ends out of town used to be ne- cessity. Now, on the contrary, p,ore and more women are finding out Il
 Turkish bath takes the place of an pia
 of town trip, and come here instead lac l wonderful saving of time and mone, What isFthe use of having uy e