Victorian Turkish Baths Picture of the Month for February 2007
Invoice from Charles Bartholomew
to the Corporation of Ashton, 1879
In addition to running a chain of Turkish baths throughout England, Bartholomew acted as a consultant to a number of local authorities on heating Turkish baths, and also undertook their installation.
This invoice to the Corporation of Ashton, near Manchester, was for such an installation.
Not wishing to wait till his return home to Bristol, and not having any 'Head Office' paper with him, Bartholomew uses a sheet of the local paper, crossing out Manchester and replacing it with Bristol. Such florid letterheads were typical of the period though Bartholomew, untypically, has not exaggerated the size of the baths in the image he uses. His Turkish baths in Bath, London, and Eastbourne were all opened after the date of this invoice.
For reply to Bristol or Manchester, and dated 17 June 1879, the invoice reads:
From the Corporation of Ashton
To Chs. Bartholomew
To New heating apparatus for
Turkish, baths and Joining
the same, as per agreement
£100 .. 0 .. 0
Please send cheque, for above to
and oblige,
Yours truly,
Charles Bartholomew
Victorian Turkish Baths: their origin, development, and gradual decline
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© Malcolm Shifrin, 1991-2023