Hot Water Bottles? Cool

Want to go to bed with Jayne Mansfield?

By Ralph Finch

This auction item gives new meaning to the term “hot water bed bottle.” It was Lot 5, a “vintage Jayne Mansfield plastic hot water bottle by Poynter Products. In good overall condition with some wear to black paint and marking of skin areas. 7 3/4” by 21” by 4 inches.”

Now, many young people may not be familiar with hot water bed bottles or Jayne Mansfield, so …

Jayne Mansfield (1933-1967) was an American film, theater and television actress, a nightclub entertainer and singer, and one of the early Playboy Playmates. She was a major Hollywood sex symbol during the 1950s-60s, and was also known for her well-publicized personal life and publicity stunts, such as “wardrobe malfunctions.” She became the first major American actress in a Hollywood film to have a nude scene.

She was married and divorced three times and had five children. She allegedly was intimately involved with numerous men, including Robert and John F. Kennedy. She died in an auto collision in New Orleans at the age of 34. FYI: Her measurements were 40-21-35. Despite rumors, she was not decapitated, but did suffer fatal head injuries.

Jayne’s daughter, actress Mariska Magdolna Hargitay, is known for her role on NBC’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. At the time of her mother’s accident, Mariska was three and a half years old, and asleep in the back of the vehicle.

“Jayne” was offered last November 10 by District Auctions of Seattle. She was valued at $50-$100, and sold for $70, plus a 20 percent buyers premium. Another attractive item is The Chilian Stores “Doultons Improved Foot Warmer.” As I write it was offered for $35 plus shipping.

This short Doulton foot warmer is guaranteed to work, if it is filled with warm Dewar’s Perth Whisky.

So, Jayne was a foot warmer (and then some), but this story is about hot water bed and foot warmers.

Foot warmers. They can be found in most any country where cold feet can also be found. The Kovels, in their price guide, explain: “Foot warmers solved the problem of cold feet in past generations. Some warmers held charcoal, others held hot water. Pottery, tin, and soapstone were the favored materials to conduct the heat. The warmer was kept under the feet, then the legs and feet were tucked into a blanket, providing warmth in a cold carriage or *church. Churchgoers, back then, were also known to travel with a baked potato in their pocket, fresh out of the oven.”

*I’ve been to England twenty times, and in many, many churches, and I’ve never been in one that wasn’t chilly. My favorite one had large hot water pipes that ran along where parishioners had their feet.

“In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, first-class passengers on trains had a piece of carpet or a carpet-covered hot water bottle and third-class passengers had some straw for foot warmers.”

While you occasionally see one at a U.S. antiques show, they are far more common in England. In fact, Alan Blakeman, famous for his BBR magazine and his many bottle auctions, recently said that he had “consigned the largest-ever number of foot warmers earlier this year (2019), gradually dispersing them.”

I think that, because of my appreciating foot warmers seen during my many visits to England, we have one (shown at right). And, oddly, it is U.S. made.

Foot warmers are relatively common. On the morning I write this hot news, eBay listed 194 “antique foot warmers.” Another website, Etsy, listed 217 antique foot warmers.

D

LEFT: The “Adaptable” bottle great for pocket or muff. Note: The Old Fulham Pottery firm was founded in Fulham, London, by John Dwight in 1672. From the earliest days, they were a significant manufacturer of salt glaze pottery. Today, all that remains of the original pottery is one large kiln. It is a Grade II listed building.

RIGHT: At a recent auction held by the British Bottle Review, this Lot 601, THE ARCTIC FOOTWARMER, 8.25 inches tall, made by DENBY STONEWARE, with original carry handle, sold for £50.

The Finch foot warmer is 11.5 inches wide, weighs eight pounds (empty) and is embossed “Pat. Appt. for I Ernst Cleveland, O”. And, despite the information written on the warmer, I found nothing on the Ernst company. Embedded into the end is a thermometer!