18th-century book toilets were a thing — and one is for sale

A commode shaped like a book strikes us as sacrilegious to most avid readers.

But apparently it was completely normal during the eighteenth century to use a replica book — or a real one — to disguise and decorate toilets.

A book conservator explained to Atlas Obscura, though, that it shouldn’t be seen as a deliberate insult to literature.

Books back then simply weren’t seen as particularly precious objects, hence their frequent repurposing in other (less gross) uses.

Nowadays, both books — and toilets made to mimic them — are both quite precious.

Literary Hub found a vintage book toilet up for sale through Heritage Auctions, with a starting bid of $1,500.

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