1800s Dr. Forbes Floating Bath Thermometer in Wood Case with Specification Chart

German made First Series, 1833-

1800s Dr. Forbes Bath Thermometer in Wood Case with Specification Chart 10"

Item Type: Scientific Argument,National Museum of American History
Item Description: Bath thermometer

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 an American scientist with wide-ranging interests and accomplishments and who kept in touch with friends and colleagues abroad.

This is a simple mercury-in-glass thermometer designed for determining when bath water is at a healthy temperature.

The scale extends from 0 to 130 degrees and is marked Dr. FORBES SPECIFICATIONS as well as FREEZING, COLD BATH, COOL, TEMP TEPID, WARM, and HOT.

The reference is to John Forbes, a Scottish physician who recommended therapeutic bathing.

Ref. Richard Bushmann and Claudia Bushmann, The Early History of Cleanliness in America, Journal of American History 74 (1988) 1213-1238.

John Forbes, et. al.,The Cyclopaedia of Practical Medicine (London, 1833), vol. 1, p. 260.