Former managing director of Thomas Crapper & Co, Simon Kirby, invites bidders to spent a penny or two as collection goes to auction
A rare collection of sanitaryware, including a toilet with an image of Hitler, has gone on the market for a potty price of £300,000.
The collection belongs to Simon Kirby, former managing director of Thomas Crapper & Co, who has been gathering bathroom furniture for more than 40 years but has now decided to let it go.
There are 1200 items in the collection including ornate toilet pans, wooden seats, a toilet from Harrods and a bath with silver plated taps which belonged to King George V and was aboard the royal train.
There are hundreds of antique brass taps, basins covered in floral decorations and 200 salesman samples of miniature baths.
Simon, 57, from Shipston began collecting the pieces seriously during his time at Thomas Crapper and it formed the basis of a private museum at the company.
He left eight years ago to become a consultant to the Royal Household.
Simon said: “These pieces are now so rare the collection could not be assembled today.
“I’d say it all started when I was a strange 11-year-old boy and I have my mother to thank for it really.
“She was a book dealer and gave me a book called Temples of Convenience, which is about lavatories.
“It’s full of pictures of decorated Victorian lavatories. My interest started then and I suppose my first museum was my bedroom. Some of the items in the book are now in my collection.
“Then at 17-year-old I started a business salvaging and restoring antique sanitary ware. I sold to people who wanted period bathrooms and things like that and it progressed from there to running Thomas Crapper and I thought why stop now?
“As I no longer run a Victorian sanitaryware company I cannot justify keeping the collection. It’s time for it to be explored and enjoyed by the public.
“Old bathroomware of this quality and condition is seldom found these days. Most of this hoard was gathered in the 1980s and ‘90s so this is a unique chance to acquire a large number of very rare pieces.”
Simon hopes that a museum might buy the collection otherwise he will sell it piece by piece.
Notable names in the collection include George Jennings, Twyford, Shanks & Co and Royal Doulton. The Hitler potty is from Crown Devon and has the words ‘Have this on Old Nasty. Another violation of Poland’ around the side.
Architectural salvage firm Salvo has been asked to help rehome the collection to preserve its future.
CEO Sara Morel said: “Salvo has continuously encouraged reuse to reduce the amount of architectural salvage that is downcycled or destroyed.
“Touring the museum was fun, insightful and a privilege. Each piece holds stories that must be saved and shared.”
