Bath Thermometer
date: label: date made
content: early 19th century
notes: label: Description
content: Bathing, whether for cleanliness or health, was not a common practice in Colonial America, or even Great Britain, and only became so over time. This bath thermometer indicates this changing practice. It was probably owned by John William Draper (1811-1882), an American scientist with wide-ranging interests and accomplishments and who kept in touch with friends and colleagues abroad.
label: Description
content: This simple mercury-in-glass thermometer was designed for determining when bath water is at a healthy temperture. The scale extends from 0 to 130 degrees, and is marked "Dr. FORBES SPECIFICATIONS" as well as "FREEZING"; "COLD BATH"; "COOL"; "TEM."; "TEPID"; "WARM"; and "HOT." The reference is to John Forbes, a Scottish physician who recommended therapeutic bathing.
label: Description
content: Ref. Richard Bushmann and Claudia Bushmann, “The Early History of Cleanliness in America,” <i>Journal of American History</i> 74 (1988): 1213-1238.
label: Description
content: John Forbes, et. al., <i>The Cyclopaedia of Practical Medicine</i> (London, 1833), vol. 1, p. 260.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Physical Sciences
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content: Health & Medicine
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content: Thermometers and Hygrometers
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content: Measuring & Mapping
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: John William Christopher Draper and James Christopher Draper
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: PH.333987
label: catalog number
content: 333987
label: accession number
content: 304826
objectType: label: Object Name
content: thermometer
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall: 6 3/4 in; 17.145 cm
label: Measurements
content: overall: 10 in x 1 1/8 in x 1 in; 25.4 cm x 2.8575 cm x 2.54 cm