Is it a tub? Is it a shower base? YES. I went to an estate sale last Thursday. A lovely, rambling mid century colonial-ranch… all picket-fence Americana-like… quite sweet. The two bathrooms upstairs were pastel delights — but the real prize was a small bathtub / shower receptor. I have seen these small tubs in old marketing materials, for example, in this 1949 Crane bathroom fixture catalog. In my experience, they are harder to spot in the wild.
Alice’s little bathtub — which I originally called a “Cinderella bathtub” — she called it her “little lady’s tub — looks to fit in the category of receptor tub as well. Hey, read on — Alice’s looks like a Neuvogue to me!
Why such a small bathtub? This seems to me to be a terrific idea if you don’t have much space… if adults prefer to shower… but there still needs to be a bathtub for a child.
The Crane brochure explains:
Requiring minimum space for installation, the Lahoma bath provides facilities for feet, sponge or shower bathing.
The Lahoma tub in the brochure measured 42″ wide by 31″ to the wall and was 12″ deep. It even had a little seat. A “mini Cinderella” bathtub!
Above: A second bathtub in the 1949 Crane catalog was also billed as a receptor tub. The Neuvogue‘s proportions — 48″ across, 41″ to the wall — were more “Cinderella bathtub”-like. It is billed as having enough space for real bathing (for an adult, presumably).
At the time I originally published this story in 2013, the Kohler Mayflower was still for sale — it had the receptor look, its measurements were 48″ x 44″. It is now discontinued:
As I recall, Eljer (I *think*) still offered a receptor bathtub until the early(ish) 2000s. But then it disappeared.
This story gets filed under Bathrooms/Tubs, Bathrooms/Shower Bases and Woddities, all three!
UPDATE: Read this story — Understanding potential lead hazards in old porcelain enamel bathtubs and sinks and ceramic tile of any age — which raises awareness regarding the potential for lead dust exposure from old tubs and sinks and ceramic tile of any age. Get with your own properly licensed professional to assess your own situation regarding this and other potential hazards in old homes and materials. Be Safe / Renovate Safe.
teri says
I have been looking for these for about two years now. We have a home built in the 1800s and have a bath that is so tiny and has a very little shower. Well I was on a trip to WVA and stayed at a hotel that had ones of these little tubs. Anyway I thought what a great idea and could not believe no one makes these anymore. Well I started a search again today and found Honolulu Foot Bathtub. It is 27 x 46.5 x 15.2 inches. Have any of you out here heard of these, because they sound like the modern day version of this bathtub? I think I just may order one and the are only around $250.00
pam kueber says
Cute — but that does not appear to be the same as a shower receptor, it’s a small bathtub.
teri says
OK now I am confused, not sure what the difference is between a shower receptor and a small bath tub. Please help explain this so I do not go out and spend $ on something that would not work.
pam kueber says
Shower receptors are more squared off in general, I’d say. I’m not sure there’s a firm definition.
Kimberly Parker says
I’m so excited to know what these are called. I had one in my last house (vintage 1960), and had never seen the like!
Sue Flynn says
My husband and I are purchasing a 1927 American Four Square home and were surprised to find the unusually small bathtub in our upstairs bathroom. I am pleasantly happy to find this website and to know our bathtub is called a receptor bathtub! I love the uniqueness of it and can’t wait to take a picture and post for everyone to see.
pam kueber says
Yay! Good on you! I covet a receptor tub!
Kathy K says
I have a receptor tub identical to the pink one above, but in a jade green color. It was refinished white by the previous owner. When we moved in one year ago, there was a tiny chip in the white coating. One year later, I noticed that the chip was growing and beginning to curl. 6 hours later, I had the entire tub scraped clean with a razor scraper. It is green once more, but etched and streaky. Any ideas on how to improve the surface? I don’t expect shine, but blending away the streaks would be nice. I love my little green tub!
pam kueber says
Kathy note my UPDATE: Read this story — Understanding potential lead hazards in old porcelain enamel bathtubs and sinks and ceramic tile of any age — which raises awareness regarding the potential for lead dust exposure from old tubs and sinks and ceramic tile of any age. Get with your own properly licensed professional to assess your own situation regarding this and other potential hazards in old homes and materials. Be Safe / Renovate Safe.
Peggy S says
I have 1950s wall tile in my bathroom this color. Does anyone know what the name might be? I need to find this tile in case any of the wall tile is damaged when tub is replaced. I know I’d have to exchange samples to get it exact, but I’m just looking for a place to start. Thanks! Peggy
pam kueber says
Sorry, Peggy, way too many companies to even begin to guess. Send your sample to Chippy at World of Tile (see my stories) to see if she can help you.
JKM says
I had one of these in an apartment I lived in one year in school and my friends and I found it so odd. I’d never seen one before and haven’t seen one since. It was too little to sit in comfortably but one could sit on the edge. The building, probably built in the early 1960’s, would have always been inhabited by students since it was only blocks from the university. I’m sure it was originally white but by the time we lived there in the early 1980’s, it was a sort of dull gray – yuk – and I never sat in the thing!
Ree says
I have a square one with a corner seat in the master bedroom of my 1955 MCM house and I love it. My 1-year old grandson loves to take a bath in it. When I “refreshed” the bathroom about 4 years ago, the contractor said to save the tub, which I was going to do anyway, because you cannot find them anymore at a reasonable price. Getting it out would have been a huge process too since it is cast iron and the doorway was narrow. I had it resurfaced and it looks brand new.
Elizabeth says
The foot washing aspect mentioned in the promotional literature makes total sense to me. When I was a kid in the early ’60s, growing up on a farm, we didn’t bathe every day. But we were required in summer (when we ran around barefoot all day long) to wash out feet in the bathtub before bed each night. Ironically, this was not completely out of a sense of personal hygiene. It was to stop the bed sheets from getting too grimy!
Elizabeth says
*our
LOL
pam kueber says
Growing up in the 1960s, I do not recall that we bathed every day. My parents also came from rural backgrounds. I recollect getting a bath once a week when I was small. I’m not sure when the “you must shower every day” imperative kicked in, in America…
Mr Kim says
I was born in the seventies and I remember clearly my mother bathed me once a week and, later told me to do so at least once a week (not that she was particularly unhappy if I did more than once, except for the wasted water).
When governments started taking into account environmental issues,
I think it was in the eighties (or maybe late seventies), they started with the «shower instead of bath» campaign. Which caught on, and, this enabled people to actually have a shower every day. Because bathing was very cumbersome. For some it was even a luxury.
In any case, it’s interesting to realise how furniture and decoration is directly linked to social change. And regardless of a particular taste for this or that style, studying how people actually decorated their houses offers a very complete picture of how their lives were.
So, yes, be aware of the many sociologists and anthropologists that might be keeping an eye on Retrorenovation. You might be the next topic of a graduation thesis 😉 heehee
rebellemichelle says
Do you know of anywhere that still makes them in this size? we have a tiny bathroom in an old row home in Baltimore and we redid our bathroom and had to put in a shower pan, but since we only have one bathroom I would like to put a tub back in when we renovate again which will probably happen in the next few years. We are just shy of 4 feet if I remember correctly and we couldn’t find anything that didn’t need heavy repairs or that was sized right for us. (we had to get rid of ours because it was badly damaged)
pam kueber says
nope. shop for vintage via craigslist or Re-Store
Terri says
I will get pics of mine (the tile is not nearly so gleamy) and a pic of the triangular one that is in a house I know is for sale.