Posted by Jessamyn on July 15, 1997 at 00:51:10:
In reply to Re: Bathing machines posted by The Mysterious H.C. on July 14, 1997 at 11:59:27
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] ] There is a reference to bathing machines in Sanditon. Anybody got any idea what sort of machines these might be? What might they look like?
] ___________
] Carl, they're not really "machines", but just a kind of wagon that was pulled up to the shore and served as a moveable changing room. The wagon had two doors, and you'd enter by the one that was away from the sea, change inside the wagon to your "bathing dress", and then exit by other door, which faced on to the sea. Sometimes the sea side of the wagon had kind of an awning you could pull down to "bathe" (not "swim") in relative seclusion.
There are a couple of fashion plates at Cathy Decker's Regency Fashion Page that show (very small, off-in-the-distance) bathing machines.
There's a link to her image-packed site on my Links page. I think she has a category called Bathing Dresses to click on.
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