Mysteries STILL Not Revealed
In the book, The Da Vinci Code, one clue led to another clue which led to another clue, and on and on. A rabbit hole of clues. So, too, with this damn slab of white quartz! It is encoded with clues! But, so far, there has been no wondrous resolution! In the image, you can see the outline of the 1929 toilet (center), and 1929 sink (upper left). These were in situ when I purchase the house. But what was there in 1894????????
A likely vanity candidate. It has a marble top, and a marble “apron” under.
Another candidate. A apron-less version.
The blue tape indicates the location of an apron vanity. See the pairs of holes under the aprons? These would have been, I assume, mounting brackets. The width is 33-inches, which was a standard vanity width for the period. The height is 30-inches, also standard (36-inches is now standard). To the far right is another pair of holes. I feel confident that these were for a clamp holding the pipe to a high-tank toilet.
If you click this image it will hugely enlarge. See all the holes? In the upper left are two marked 1. These held the 1929 sink. Over to the right are two marked 2. These held the tank for the 1929 toilet. Now see the five holes marked 3? WHAT are these for?
I have two ideas:
- The pair of 3 holes right/left held a soap dish and water glass. The center 3 held a ring, which held a beaded chain for a sink stopper. Or maybe not.
- As I sat on the floor and stared and stared and stared at this bedeviling slab of white quartz an idea popped into my head. I have been assuming that the 1929 sink replaced the 1894 vanity. But what if there is a missing link? What if the 1894 sink was already long gone by 1929? This actually makes sense, as the house in the teens had been converted into a sanitarium, and in the 1920s it was a tea room. Perhaps the low 1894 marble vanity was replaced with a higher sink, and one more suitable for commercial usage? If so, could the five holes be for a mounting bracket?
OTHER DETAILS
Oh! I did figure out, I think, why the supply line and drains are not centered under where the 1894 vanity likely was. The supply lines and drain never went into the floor, but went into the wall, and then to the basement. That wall is an interior wall. Just over to the right though, the wall changes to an exterior wall. An having supply lines inside an exterior wall is a big no-no.
Next to a drain hole are, incredibly, FOUR aborted attempts at making drain hole! Was the plumber drunk? I have enhanced this image so the details are better shown. In person you cannot see them from a standing height.
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Well, that totally blows my theory. If indeed that horizontal tape is at the 30″ height then the two pairs of holes are too low for a typical skirt bracket like you can see in this image.
They are also too low for a shelf-type bracket.
The “3” holes are at least in a symmetrical pattern, which is good. But I don’t know of any accessories that mounted with single screws, so I’ve no idea what they were for either. Sometimes the marble backsplashes were fixed to the walls with single screws.
A real stumper.
Ross,
Are there any extant original plumbing fixtures in the house, so you might at least guess the manufacturer of what was there? I imagine the key will be finding a fixture in a catalog with just the right brackets and mounting points. Of course, Squires may have sourced fixtures from different companies for each lav, but who knows.
Colin
There are no extant original plumbing fixtures in the house. Sigh!
I have several early 1890s catalogs but none which show what, exactly, I might have had.
So the hunt continues!
Ross, when you are finished restoring the bathroom, and there are holes in the marble, do you know how to repair them? I expect that the bigger ones could be closed with matching plugs, and the very small holes could be patched with maybe plaster and dusted with marble dust while the plaster is wet. I am wondering if you gave the matter any thought.
I am going to take all the slabs of quartz to a marble company in Wichita and have them repaired and polished. One is cracked in two!
Hi Ross,
I have followed your blog for some time and am at awe with your devotion to the Cross House and you meticulous attention to detail. You really are an inspiration.
Regarding the holes marked 3, could these be for fixing some kind of shelf above the sink?
Kind regards
Matt
Hi Matt!
Thank you for the kind words!
Yes, the #3 holes could have been a shelf.
Or could it be for fittings like the ones on this vintage sink.
Zounds! I scoured the internet for just such an image! This would sorta illustrate my Idea #1.
I will do a separate post on your discovery!
Thanks!
Well, were it my house I would hypothesize a drunk man with a drill bit and bad aim, but that’s just me 😉
I did suspect the same!
(Note to readers: Meg is restoring her own grand pile.)