Owner of Europe’s largest collection of bedpans gets no relief after odd auction is a dud
They pissed away their chances of owning a piece of history.
Would-be buyers had no love for a bizarre auction offering up what is believed to be Europe’s largest collection of bedpans — with no bids placed for the trove of mini-toilets.
Owner Mary Jacobs — who said the 163-piece collection up has got to go because she’s running out of space — is now trying to find the collection a new home after getting no relief from bidders.
Jacobs, 77, of Newmarket, England, told Suffolk News that she started her unique hobby back in 1984, when she bought a slipper bedpan for just 64 cents while helping out at a rummage sale at the local Salvation Army hall.
“That was the start,” she said. “I just wanted to collect something different. It snowballed from there, and I found myself going round so many places to add to my collection.”
She cataloged and labeled each piece so she knows its origin and how much she paid, she said.
“Most people think they all look the same, but in fact they are all different sizes, colors and shapes,” she said. “They vary a lot.”
Jacobs — who has paid up to about $25 for a single bedpan — doesn’t have a favorite, though she seems particularly fond of one that has a blue-and-white pattern.
The rarest are those with odd shapes, she added.
Unfortunately, not everyone shares her enthusiasm for the modern-day chamber pots.
She’d hoped to find a buyer at a Lincolnshire auction earlier this month, but no bidders raised their hands, and she was forced to bring them all home yet again.
Despite the failure, she’s still hoping to offload them.
“I had a cupboard built to store them in my front bedroom, but I’m getting older and need to clear some space,” she said.
“I hope they go to a good home,” she continued. “They’re clean, washed and in fantastic condition.”
