Washtub Collection

Advertising card for Thoms Castile Soap of Manchester
Advertising card by Louis Wain for the Gold Medal-winning Thoms Castile Soap - the Best in the World - manufactured by David Thom & Co. Ltd. of Pendleton, Manchester

Advertising card for Sanitas cloth wall covering (chromolitho)
8677757 Advertising card for Sanitas cloth wall covering (chromolitho) by American School, (20th century); Private Collection; (add.info)

Children hygiene. Child sleeping, child in the bath. Book by Dr Jules Rengade, "Life and Health" 1881 (print)
7295216 Children hygiene. Child sleeping, child in the bath. Book by Dr Jules Rengade, "Life and Health" 1881 (print); Private Collection; Photo ©Jaime Abecasis.

The suicide of Horace Wells, 1850
3478347 The suicide of Horace Wells, 1850; (add.info.: Illustration depicting the suicide of Horace Wells (1815-848) an American dentist who pioneered the use of anaesthesia in dentistry

19th century, French, illustration, showing the birth of Jesus, c.1820
3666125 19th century, French, illustration, showing the birth of Jesus, c.1820; (add.info.: 19th century, French, illustration, showing the birth of Jesus. Circa 1820.); Universal History Archive/UIG.

This is jolly (coloured photo)
8655934 This is jolly (coloured photo) by English Photographer, (20th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: This is jolly. Boy in a bathtub. Postcard, early 20th century.); © Look and Learn.

Baby boys in a bathtub (colour litho)
8635490 Baby boys in a bathtub (colour litho) by Smith, Robert Sidney (1877-1935); Private Collection; (add.info.: Baby boys in a bathtub. Postcard, early 20th century.); © Look and Learn.

Wood Lane Open Air School, Shepherd's Bush, London (b/w photo)
8664271 Wood Lane Open Air School, Shepherd's Bush, London (b/w photo) by English Photographer, (20th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: School without walls)

Triplets Born to a Farmer and His Wife, 1875. Creator: Tsukioka Yoshitoshi
Triplets Born to a Farmer and His Wife, 1875. Series: The Postal News, no. 447

The Washerwoman, mid-late 18th century. Creator: Jean-Simeon Chardin
The Washerwoman, mid-late 18th century

Still life in a stable, 1639-1649. Creator: Hendrik Potuyl
Still life in a stable, 1639-1649

Washerwoman, 1820-1872. Creator: Hendrik Abraham Klinkhamer
Washerwoman, 1820-1872. Overturned basket of laundry, washtub and small girl

Two women treading laundry, c.1652-c.1653. Creator: Gesina ter Borch
Two women treading laundry, c.1652-c.1653. Two women standing in a tub trampling the laundry, with washerwomen's song below

Cattle by a Watering Place, 1645-1670. Creator: Jacob Weyer
Cattle by a Watering Place, 1645-1670

In the Tub, 1889. Creator: Christian Krohg
In the Tub, 1889

Woman scouring metalware, 1650-1660. Creator: Jan Steen
Woman scouring metalware, 1650-1660

Target Practice - Cleaning 12 Gun, 1913. Creator: Unknown
Target Practice - Cleaning 12 Gun, 1913

Travel views of Cuba and Guatemala, between 1899 and 1926. Creator: Arnold Genthe
Travel views of Cuba and Guatemala, between 1899 and 1926

An out-of-door class in laundry work, 1904. Creator: Frances Benjamin Johnston
An out-of-door class in laundry work, 1904

Scene from "Tess of the D'Urbervilles", by Thomas Hardy, 1891. Creator: Hubert von Herkomer
"Tess of the D'Urbervilles", By Thomas Hardy; "There stood her mother, amid the group of children, hanging over the washing-tub", 1891. From "The Graphic

"The Launch" - painted by G. Smith, 1854. Creator: Unknown. "The Launch" - painted by G
"The Launch" - painted by G. Smith, 1854. This spirited little affair represents an amusing episode in schoolboy life

Company housing for cotton workers near Corcoran, California, 1936. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Company housing for cotton workers near Corcoran, California

Okazaki, from the series "Fifty-three Stations [of the Tokaido] (Gojusan tsugi), " also...1852
Okazaki, from the series "Fifty-three Stations [of the Tokaido] (Gojusan tsugi), " also known as the Figure Tokaido (Jinbutsu Tokaido), 1852

In a migratory camp, California, 1936. Creator: Dorothea Lange
In a migratory camp. California

Part of migrant family of five encamped near Porterville, CA, 1936. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Part of migrant family of five encamped near Porterville, California, while waiting for work in the orange groves

Wife of migratory worker in auto camp, California, 1936. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Wife of migratory worker in auto camp. California

Wife and child of migrant worker, encamped near Winters, California, 1936. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Wife and child of migrant worker, encamped near Winters, California. This is a proposed location of Resettlement Administration migrant camp

American River camp, Sacramento, 1936. Creator: Dorothea Lange
American River camp, Sacramento. Home of Tennessee family, now migratory workers. Seven in family, came to California July 1935, following relatives who had come in 1933

Depression refugee family from Tulsa, Oklahoma, arrived in California June 1936, 1936. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Depression refugee family from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Arrived in California June 1936. Mother and three half-grown children; no father. "Anybody as wants to work can get by

Part of migrant family of five, encamped near Porterville, California, 1936. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Part of migrant family of five, encamped near Porterville, California, while waiting for work in the orange groves

Mother of family of migrant fruit workers encamped on outskirts of Porterville, California, 1936
Mother of family of migrant fruit workers encamped on the outskirts of Porterville, California, waiting for work in the orange groves

Home of a family of native Californians, migratory workers, Near Porterville, California, 1936. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Home of a family of native Californians, migratory workers. Near Porterville, California

Housing for cotton pickers, South Texas, 1936. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Housing for cotton pickers. South Texas

Migrant family's car near Brownsville, Texas, 1936. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Migrant family's car near Brownsville, Texas

Well and old plantation smokehouse, Chesnee, South Carolina, 1937. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Well and old plantation smokehouse. Chesnee, South Carolina

Washing facilities on a Greene County, Georgia, tenant farm, 1937. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Washing facilities on a Greene County, Georgia, tenant farm

Washing facilities on a Greene County, Georgia, tenant farm, 1937. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Washing facilities on a Greene County, Georgia, tenant farm

Washing facilities on a Greene County, Georgia, tenant farm, 1937. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Washing facilities on a Greene County, Georgia, tenant farm

Cabin in Hancock County, Mississippi, 1937. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Cabin in Hancock County, Mississippi

Miner's home, company-owned, Blue Blaze Coal Company, Consumers, near Price, Utah, 1936. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Miner's home, company-owned. Blue Blaze Coal Company. Consumers, near Price, Utah

Miner's shack, Blue Blaze coal mine, Consumers, near Price, Utah, 1936. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Miner's shack. Blue Blaze coal mine. Consumers, near Price, Utah

Washing facilities for families in migratory pea pickers camp, Imperial Valley, California, 1937
Washing facilities for families in migratory pea pickers camp. Imperial Valley, California. Mostly Oklahomans and Texans

In a migratory labor camp, California, 1936. Creator: Dorothea Lange
In a migratory labor camp. California

Blue Monday in a California migratory camp, 1936. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Blue Monday in a California migratory camp

Oklahoma grandmother in southern California squatter's camp, 1937. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Oklahoma grandmother in southern California squatter's camp. "Yes'm we're getting along just fine"

Part of migrant family of five encamped near Porterville, California, 1936. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Part of migrant family of five encamped near Porterville, California, while waiting for work in the orange groves

Home of farmer who has raised cotton for fifty years on his own land, Greene County, Georgia, 1937
Home of farmer who has raised cotton for fifty years on his own land. Greene County, Georgia

House in which cotton farmer has lived for fifty years, Macon County, Georgia, 1937. Creator: Dorothea Lange
House in which cotton farmer has lived for fifty years. Macon County, Georgia

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From Manchester to Jamaica, the humble washtub has played a vital role in history. In an advertising card for Thoms Castile Soap of Manchester, the washtub symbolizes cleanliness and purity. A Georgian cartoon depicts women striking while the iron's hot, advocating for women's suffrage as they wash clothes in their trusty washtubs. The artistic talents of Adolphe Duperly & Son capture a picturesque scene of women washing clothes in the river in Port Antonio, Jamaica circa 1905. The vibrant colors of a lithograph titled 'Rub-a-dub-dub' bring to life the rhythmic motion of laundry day. Not limited to paintings and cartoons, the significance of the it is seen through sculptures like 'The Tub' created by an unknown artist on pastel cardboard in 1886 or cast into bronze as depicted in 'The Tub' from 1889. Intriguingly, even after bathing comes breakfast as shown in 'Breakfast after the Bath, ' where pastels on paper convey a cozy domestic scene from 1895-98. Moving beyond domesticity, Gordon Parks captures an unexpected perspective with his photograph showcasing an interior view of a Chinese laundry located under apartments in Washington D. C. During 1942. This image reminds us that behind every clean garment lies hard work and dedication. Dorothea Lange's powerful photographs shed light on different aspects related to poverty and resilience during challenging times. From families living temporarily in tents while building houses near Klamath Falls to rural shack communities on town outskirts - each picture tells its own story about survival and determination. Even young families waiting along ditch banks outside camps demonstrate strength amidst adversity. Through these diverse glimpses into history captured across various mediums - be it art or photography - we are reminded that beneath layers of soapy water lies not just clothing but stories waiting to be told.