Three views of the cooling-room on the SS Adriatic
This view of the cooling-room appeared in a local almanac published at the time of the launch, while a monochrome version was included in The White Star new twin screw steamer Adriatic: 25,000 tons, a company brochure issued at the same time.
In the centre can be seen the original weighing chair and, in the background, the original dressing table.
< Detail from photo in the
National Museums Northern Ireland (NMNI)
from whose
online picture library good quality prints
can be obtained
This image shows the cooling-room after the post World War I refit in the early 1920s. A larger dressing table and a rather more sophisticated weighing chair (see below) have replaced the originals, but otherwise, the layout of the room looks relatively unchanged.
National Museums Northern Ireland
Bathers sat in this comfortably upholstered weighing chair, adjusted the position of the weight on the sliding bar at the side, and read their weight before—and after—taking their Turkish bath.
This view is taken from a brochure issued in 1928 after the boat had been refurbished and converted to a Cabin Class Cruiser. The conversion was a means of increasing the amount of less expensive accommodation available and consequently increasing the number of passengers. At this time, the Adriatic was the largest Cabin Class steamer in the world, and the largest of all steamers sailing from Liverpool.
It is interesting to note that curtains were added at this time so that passengers relaxing in the cooling-room could do so in privacy if preferred—a preference apparently not expressed by the earlier, and wealthier, class of passenger.
The curtains have changed a stylish room into a fussy one.
The last item is from the collection of the Victorian Turkish Baths Project
Michelle Ashmore, Picture Library Executive, National Museums Northern Ireland (NMNI)
Christopher Jones for information, and earlier use of an image
Daniel Klistorner for much helpful correspondence
This page enlarges an image or adds to the information found below:
The Turkish bath on the SS Adriatic
Victorian Turkish Baths: their origin, development, and gradual decline
Comments and queries are most welcome and can be sent to:
malcolm@victorianturkishbath.org
The right of Malcolm Shifrin to be identified as the author of this work
has been asserted by him
in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
© Malcolm Shifrin, 1991-2023