The
bathing machine, or van, was a necessary component of sea-side
etiquette in the 19th century. Bathing machines were most common at
the sea-side resorts of Great Britain but were also used at beaches
in the United States, France and Germany. The use of this device was
more strictly enforced for women who had to endure a variety of
discomforts which far outweighed any possible compensation of a day
at the sea. The men had the best of it; they were allowed to bathe
in drawers, and could plunge off one of the small boats that often
patrolled along the front of the beach. Meanwhile, the vans and
bathing-places for women were set far apart from those reserved for
men, to guarantee that the modest woman in her bathing costume would
not be seen by the opposite sex. Nevertheless, they often were
still open to the gaze of spectators on the beach, who were usually
not fenced off from the female bathers.
The
bathing machine was like a sentry-box on wheels; it was about six
feet in length and width, and about eight feet high, with a peaked
roof. Some had solid wooden walls; others had canvas walls over a
wooden frame. Sometimes the windowless box was colored with the
fantastic lavishness of a canal-boat, and sometimes the whole of the
superficial space was covered with advertisements. The bathing
machine had a door behind and in front, and as the floor was four
feet above the ground, it had to be reached by a step-ladder. The
contents of the bathing machine consisted of a bench, a damp flannel
gown, and two towels. The only light was from an unglazed opening in
the roof; there was no mirror, and no fresh-water. The bathing
machine was wheeled or slid down into the water; some were pulled in
and out of the surf by a pair of horses with a driver and others by
human power.
Having
left her "valuables" in the hands of the bathing-woman whose office
was in a small wooden box, the female bather would closet herself
and, in the privacy of the machine, would change into her bathing
dress, placing her street garments into a raised compartment where
the clothing would remain dry. When (in the opinion of the bathing
machine operator) she had ample time to disrobe, the van was lowered
to the edge of the water, and generally shaking the occupant
violently as it rolled over the pebbles.
The
bather then entered the surf by the front door, descending by
another step-ladder like the one behind; and if she could not swim,
the portly and sunburned attendant encircled the bather’s waist with
a strong cord, attaching the shore end to the van.  This precaution
was very necessary at the British seaside, for often the slope of
the beach was precipitous, and the water broke upon it with a sudden
and vindictive force which often knocked down those who were weak. She, who fifteen minutes earlier had a smiling face with silken hair
woven into obedient folds, stands in a line with half a dozen or
more other bathers, each tied to a van. The shapeless bathing dress
that covered her is all bedraggled; her hair is tangled and matted.
In the spirit of the moment, she dashes handfuls of water into her
face, and paddles with her feet; and all the time she is preoccupied
and fearful lest one of the violent waves should catch her unawares.
When she has splashed for ten minutes or a quarter of an hour, and
is unspeakably disheveled, the bathing-woman hauls her in; thus
completing her sea-side experience.
Compiled
and edited by Melissa Haug.
PHOTOS: Library of Congress, LC-DIG-ppmsc-08898, LC-DIG-ppmsc-08917,
LC-DIG-ppmsc-08707, LC-DIG-ppmsc-05623.
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