Patooie!

by Erin Doane, Senior Curator 

Spittoons are particularly American artifacts. No one used to spit like we did here in the good old U.S.A. during the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Lobby of the Hotel Rathbun, 1910s

In his 1899 book, American Notes, Rudyard Kipling wrote a vivid description of the practice:

In a vast marble-paved hall, under the glare of an electric light, sat forty or fifty men, and for their use and amusement were provided spittoons of infinite capacity and generous gape. Most of the men wore frock-coats and top-hats – the things that we in India put on at wedding-breakfast, if we possess them – but they all spat. They spat on principle. The spittoons were on the staircases, in each bedroom – yea, and in chambers even more sacred than these. They chased one into retirement, but they blossomed in chiefest splendor round the bar, and they were all used, every reeking one of them. 

Baldwin Kolb’s saloon, 1896

As Kipling reported, spittoons could, indeed, be found seemingly everywhere – business offices, bars, billiard parlors, hotel lobbies, post office, reading rooms, courtrooms, train cars, men’s club, and even the U.S. House and Senate Chambers. But why? What was all the spitting about?

Sitting room at the Hotel Rathbun with a spittoon tucked discretely behind the column on the right, 1910s

The main reason for the large amount of expectoration was chewing tobacco. In the early 1800s, chewing tobacco began to replace pipes and powdered snuff as the preferred methods of using tobacco. Snuff was seen as distinctly British, and pipes could be cumbersome to care for and use. Chewing tobacco was more convenient and didn’t pose a fire risk. Civil War soldiers on both sides chewed tobacco as a way to cope with boredom, stress, and even hunger in the field. One of the downsides is that swallowing tobacco juice is damaging to the digestive system and can cause acute nicotine poisoning. Spitting out the juice is necessary. 

Fred Ferris’s bar and liquor store, early 1900s

In rural settings, those chewing tobacco would just spit on the ground. Those in urban settings also just spat on the ground, which led to the ubiquity of the spittoon. At its most basic level, a spittoon is a bowl into which one spits. Many designs have funnel-shaped lids with holes in the center to keep the saliva, etc. contained. They can be made out of a wide variety of materials including ceramic, porcelain, glass, and metals like tin and brass. We have several different types of spittoons in the museum’s collection.

Stoneware spittoon made in Elmira by E. W. Farrington, c. 1890

Glazed ceramic spittoon with corked hole on the side for emptying, late 1800s

Porcelain spittoon with floral decoration, late 1800s

Four tin spittoons each with removable lids that were used in Chemung County buildings during the early 1900s

Brass spittoon from the second Chemung Canal Bank building, 1920s

Another cause of excessive sputum and the need to spit was respiratory illness; in particular tuberculosis, or consumption as it was called in the 19^th century. A 1907 article in the Star-Gazette explained how “the spit and the small particles coughed up and sneezed out by consumptives, and by many who do not know that they have consumption, are full of living germs too small to be seen. THESE GERMS ARE THE CAUSE OF CONSUMPTION.” It had tips for how to prevent the spread of consumption, including the following:

• Don’t spit on side-walks – it spreads disease, and it is against the law.
• Don’t spit on the floors of your rooms or hallways.
• Don’t spit on the floor of your shop.
• When you spit, spit in the gutters or into a spittoon.

Billiard room at the Hotel Rathbun, 1910s

That same year, the mayor of Boston issued an order to slow down the spread of consumption in his city. In it, he positively forbade all employees of the city of Boston from spitting upon the floors and required the posting of notices in all public building that read: “Do not spit on the floor, to do so may spread disease.” Employees of the city who suffered from pulmonary tuberculosis were not permitted to use the public spittoons, and had to provide themselves with individual sputum receivers.

Writing room at the Hotel Rathbun, 1910s

Regulations like those implemented in Boston, along with public education about consumption and better treatment options, slowly led to a decline of the disease and less need to publicly expel sputum. The use of chewing tobacco also declined sharply in the early 1900s. Some attributed the drop to the civilizing effect of more women participating in public life. Cigarettes were also growing in popularity as a means to enjoy tobacco, and chewing gum became quite popular in the 1920s, in particular with the younger generation.

Lyceum Cafe, c. 1910

A study done in 1935 at the University of North Carolina showed that about 3.5 percent of the school’s 2,500 students reported chewing tobacco, in contrast to 25 percent of students 25 years earlier. By the end of 1930s, spittoons had virtually disappeared from public spaces. I, for one, am grateful that spittoons are now things of the past, typically only found in attics, antique shops, and museums.