Temples of Convenience and Chambers of Delight

About this book

Indispensable but much taken for granted few inventions have done as much to ease the human lot as the lavatory. In this new edition of Temples of Convenience and Chambers of Delight Lucinda Lambton explores the development of the lavatory from the latrine and the garderobe to the sophisticated and exquisitely decorated piece of sanitary engineering that turned a bodily necessity into an aesthetic delight. Here are 150 captioned color images of the brilliant and amusing designs she uncovered in her search across Britain from cherub-bedecked bathtubs to a toilet fashioned as a lion. Lucinda Lambton is the author of An Album of Curious Houses .