Vintage finds and retro handmade--a sweet mix I know you'll love.

This is my blog. To visit my stores, click the Etsy or Artfire links above, or the product images on the right column of the screen.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

A Little Off-Color Humor Here...Don't Mind Me

As we get older, we may not be able to keep our looks or our health, but we can at least keep our sense of humor, right? On that note, welcome to Extreme Vintage Hunting--Potty Humor Edition!

I have had this little ceramic cup with one handle on it, sitting on my bookshelf for a couple of years, now. I had hesitated to make it available for sale, because something about it told me that it was a joke, and possibly a crude one.  I just didn't know what the story was.

Well, it turns out that I was right!

This happens to be a Victorian miniature chamber pot.  Yes, you read that right. It's a bit of subversive potty humor, probably meant for a baby doll.  The outside reads "Morning Exercise" (are we talking about "eat more fiber" or the exercise servants got when carrying it out of the room?). The inside of the chamber pot has a little off-center stamped emblem that depicts a "Goo-goo" eye. I think it's a target to hit.

So...yeah.  Who said Victorians were all the prudish type?  That person was obviously very, very wrong.

My research has uncovered that these were made in Germany in the late 1800s.  The date really does make sense, since the chamber pot was eventually forgotten with the advent of the indoor water closet.  Little girls like to have a miniature version of their house, so I'm sure as the chamber pot was left behind (oops, I made a pun!), so was the market for these doll potties in turn-of-the-century Germany.

However, if you want a genuine collectible for your Victorian doll collection (or just like a nice, subversive dose of potty humor every now and then to keep life interesting), here you go!  It's actually in pretty nice shape, considering the age.  I guess it wasn't used much. Okay, I think I hope it wasn't used at all!  As one of my friends put it (he just couldn't resist), you never know what fun little "nuggets" you'll find when you buy vintage.

P.S. While we're on the subject of old potty humor, I thought I'd mention my vintage cedar outhouse salt and pepper shakers. You can find them here, although eventually I may move them over to Etsy to keep the chamber pot company.

2 comments:

  1. I have one of these that says 'Do it now' on the side. I also have another one that has an engraved little boy peeing at the bottom of the pot. If you hold it up to a light, you can see through the bottom. It also says 'Can you see through it? in gold on the side of the pot. I think they are funny too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow! Yours are a little bit more extreme than the one I found. Those Victorians were definitely not prudes!

    ReplyDelete

Your comments are welcome, but I ask that you please keep comments courteous and rated G. This is a family-friendly blog. Comments are moderated; spammers will not be tolerated. Thank you!