Models of hygienic sanitary appliances, England, 1895 It’s 1895
and Charles Campbell, a member of the Sanitary Institute, has
designed and arranged this cabinet for lectures on hygiene and
sanitary science – but who is attending such talks? Sanitary
Inspectors employed to check and report on the state of hygiene
in their neighbourhood are the most likely audience. It was an
essential part of their training, in preparation for
examinations held by the Sanitary Institute and other public
health associations. Women gained the sanitary officer’s
certificate as often as men. In the mid-1890s, Hilda Martindale
attended lectures at the Sanitary Institute, passed the
examination, and went on to study public health and hygiene at
Bedford College, London. What were her career prospects? She
worked as a factory inspector for more than thirty years,
becoming Deputy Chief Inspector in 1925. It’s possible Hilda
Martindale was taught using this or a similar cabinet, so what’s
inside? It has three layers of miniature water s