Bathtub that stands in the corner when not In use
The bathtub has a copper insert it stands up when not in use with a wooden exterior built in the 1890s
It is been in the family for over 40 years
Inherited
Maybe
This is an antique folding bathtub that was produced at the end of the 19th century in Marshall, Michigan by the aptly names Folding Bathtub Co. The company produced other convenient folding furniture pieces for bath and home, and the tub was their feature item. The bathtub was made to easily fold into a standing position and is housed in an oak wood casing that would compliment Victorian decor at that time. There are a fair amount of digital copies of their sales catalogues available online to see that there are a few components that may be missing with yours or just not pictured, i.e. the heating/water unit and spigots. These come up to auction on only a few occasions and tend to exceed high auction estimates at sale. The estimate is based on actual sale records of comparables. Retail prices may be higher and vary.
Have you accessed any of the company catalogues to see the mechanisms of their folding tubs?
I will look them up all of the ones I have found have mounted stands on the side of the top. This one has built in foot stands in the wood and is not anchored to a wall.
The crux of the folding bathub company was for these units to fold up into a wall second wall mounted unit. From your images and comparisons to their catalogue offerings , it appears that this is incomplete.
Yea this unit is not like that it was never built into another piece and it has a separate water heater that goes with it.
Let me know when you view some of their catalogues. As the water heater unit hung up on the back side of the fold-up element that would have been up against the wall, and there was a connecting faucet.
I do have the water heater and some other pieces not pictured. My concern is more about the other “folding “ tubs is that this particular model does not actually fold it was designed to be self standing deco when not in use. Does that increase or decrease its value?