Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Rub-a-Dub-Dub, 3 Men AND a Tub!


Last night, Andy, Shawn, and I went to pick up Clifford the Clawfoot. We had to drive deep into the dark woods of Pennsylvania to find him. We went late at night because it took that long to round up our entourage. When we finally did find him, he was laying on his side in a little shed beside a pretty stone house. The owner, Mike, came out to greet us.

The guys picked it up effortlessly, and--using their hands only--they got it into the van (and later up my staircase and into my bedroom)! I couldn't believe how quickly they did it! The guy who gave it to us said he was just thankful to have someone to take it out of his shed, and that is why he did not set a reserve price on the auction. He said to me, "These go for hundreds of dollars, you know!" Oh, did I ever! These can go for $300 - $1,000 a piece!

It is beautiful! It is white both on the inside (where it's shiny porcelain) and the outside (where it is painted cast iron). Only one side of it and the back (which must have once been toward the wall) are not painted, so I am planning to paint them white also so that the tub looks good from ALL sides.

Some neat little things about the tub which I researched online after reading the stamp on the bottom of it include:

  • My tub has a birthday! That is June 10, 1922, so this summer it celebrated its 86th birthday! My 91-year-old Grandmother was just 5 years old when it was built!
  • There is a fun metal STAR affixed to the bottom of the tub. Just for looks, I suppose!
  • It was made by the Standard Sanitary Manufacturing Company (I went online to decode the abbreviation "S.S.M. Co.") which later became the American Standard Company (a classic name you probably recognize). It even has the word "Standard" printed into it.
  • To my knowledge, my tub was the 7th tub produced on that date.
  • And--get this!!--the claws of my tub are not the typical lion paws that you might imagine, but they are BIRD talons!! So perfect for a bird lover! Each foot of the tub has three toes with lines on them and nails. They definitely look like my doves' feet! Yay!
Now I can say that my apartment has one-and-a-half baths!

It is standing in my bedroom right now on its four doves legs! Yay!