[Trade Catalogue] Thomas Crapper & Co., Ltd. By Appointment. Chelsea, London, S.W.3. No. 26. Thomas Crapper & Co. Ltd. Patentees and Manufacturers of Sanitary Appliances. Catalogue and Price List No. 26 March 1928

Attractive plumbing company catalogue from the concern whose name in popular legend has the distinction of having been immortalized in a four letter word! Surprisingly uncommon catalogue as well, with only a single catalogue of the company showing on OCLC First Search, this copy located at Oxford and bearing the date supposedly of 1991 but possibly more or less the same catalogue based on its page count and the like. 4to. 28 by 22 cm. 211, [9] pp. Leaves of a glossy paper stock. Although it is an urban myth that the word "crap" derives from the name, Thomas Crapper, remarkably delicious, or malodorous coincidence that it is, Thomas Crapper (1836-1910) and the plumbing concern he founded were in myriad ways of tremendous significance in the development of modern plumbing. Not only did Crapper hold three patents, of the nine he held, that consigned the chamber pot and Georgian commode to the past and ushered in the modern toilet age. In addition, Crapper's company was the first plumbing concern to open a showroom displaying, attractively, toilets, bathtubs and the like. And the company was renowned for the high quality of its products which earned it the patronage of the Royal family and the imprimatur of a Royal Seal of Appointment, the emblem proudly impressed in gilt of the front cover of the catalogue. The company continued on after Crapper's retirement and death, finally being merged with a rival in 1966, and the merged concern going out of business just three years later. The company, though, has been reincarnated in more recent years as a business selling vintage Victorian-style plumbing fixtures. This catalogue is profusely illustrated with photos of its showroom and then countless images of its products, including pictures sometimes of the interior workings of the particular contraptions. The product images are generally illustrations derived from photos -- they are made to look as if they are drawn and painted -- as very common in trade catalogues of the period. Whatever the product -- bathtubs, toilet bowls, urinals, shower heads, sinks or lavatories -- there is always a lot of models and choice. Also shown as individual products are the component parts such as pipes, faucets, and the like. More pages, though, are devoted to the fixtures than to their parts. The company also sold heaters, or boilers, and radiators -- with these, there are more pages devoted to the internal workings than to the complete fixtures. In the back, in the unpaginated portion, is a detailed index. The catalogue has the lightest of wear, if any. Near Fine or Fine, depending on how fussy one chooses to be. Jeremy, York, 9-24, paid 100 pounds.

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Bibliographic Details

Title

[Trade Catalogue] Thomas Crapper & Co., Ltd. By Appointment. Chelsea, London, S.W.3. No. 26. Thomas Crapper & Co. Ltd. Patentees and Manufacturers of Sanitary Appliances. Catalogue and Price List No. 26 March 1928

Publisher

Printer: W. G. Mead, London, London

Publication Date

1928

Binding

Cloth

Edition

No. 26.

Condition

Near Fine

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White Fox Rare Books and Antiques
974 Cemetery Road, West Windsor, VT, 05089, U.S.A.

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