Hot water bottle
R. A. Rothermel Ltd
Category
Household and miscellaneous
Date
1944 - 1950
Materials
Bakelite
Measurements
20 cm (Width); 33 cm (Length)
Place of origin
London
Order this imageCollection
Chastleton House, Oxfordshire
NT 1430403
Caption
Although it is made in the shape of a hot-water bottle, this bed warmer contains no liquid. The rigid brown case is made from a hard plastic called Bakelite, which was patented in 1909. An asbestos heating tube inside holds an array of wires, which run through the neck of the bottle and can be plugged into a lamp or electric wall socket. Bakelite was a revolutionary material because it was the first entirely synthetic plastic. Easy to mould into a wide variety of shapes and resistant to heat and electricity, it was used in everything from radios, cars and household items to jewellery. By 1944 over 15,000 different Bakelite products were available. This bed warmer was made by the British company Rothermel, using a patented heating tube insulated by the Bakelite cover. It would have been welcome at Chastleton, as the last private owner, Barbara Clutton-Brock, described the house as intensely cold, telling the National Trust when she left that she had never felt warm in her life.
Summary
An electric 'hot water' bottle, of brown bakelite.
Provenance
from G17 Pantry
Makers and roles
R. A. Rothermel Ltd, maker