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The John Douglas Co. were makers of plumbing fixtures and most famous
for their toilets.
The John Douglas Co of Cincinnati, Ohio was one of the great 19th and
early 20th century American plumbing manufacturing companies, that
probably went out of business in the depression, like so many others.
It was first established in 1887. The company's trademark was the moon
in crescent and the logo "The best is cheapest", and the label markings
on a Douglas toilet are among the best ever seen on old antique toilet
bowls. Usually the company name is written in large stylized lettering
on the back or front rim surface, or the logo is at the back near the
seat hinge holes, and the model name is down inside the bowl under the
back rim.
They seem to have been a water closet (toilet) company first and
foremost since their catalogues start out with information on toilet
sets and the very high quality of their wooden tanks. The largest part
of theircatalogues is devoted to toilets. But they also made
everything else for bathrooms and kitchens including Bathtubs, Showers,
Kitchen sinks and brass work.
Some of the Douglas toilet models that were most common were called
Gloria, Royal, Favorite, Leader, Excelcius, Yale, Empire, Capitol, and
Avon. These bowls date from around 1900 to the mid twenties.
One antique bath fixture legend that is popular is that the slang term
for the toilet, "the John" comes from the company name,,,,The John
Douglas Co. I have never confirmed it though and have no way to know if
that is true. My feeling is that it probably is not true, but who knows?
It seems that the company was founded by a John Douglas before 1905.
| The petitioner, The John Douglas Company, is a corporation
organized under the laws of the State of Ohio on June 10,1890,
with its principal office and plant at Cincinnati. It is engaged
in the manufacture and sale of sanitary plumbing fixtures and
plumbing supplies. The business of the petitioner was started by
John Douglas, a plumber, who invented and patented the Douglas
rubber-ball valves used in flush tanks. Prior to 1905 the
principal products of the petitioner were wooden tanks and
wooden seats for water closets. The water closet bowel was
purchased from factories in and near Trenton, N. J. It and other
fixtures were assembled at the petitioner's plant and sold as a
unit. The flush tank was made of wood and lined with zinc,
copper, lead or tin. Wooden tanks are unsatisfactory because of
warping and cracking. Iron and enamel tanks are subject to rust.
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Whilst the 'Gloria' was a John Douglas product, it appears that 'The
Original Gloria Toilet' was created by John Douglas Ridenour, owner of
the John Douglas Plumbing Company, Cincinnati OH. His father,
Charles E. Ridenour, was the first plumber in Springfield, Ohio and
owner/proprietor of the Charles E. Ridenour and Co. Plumbing, originally
located at 37-39 West Highland Street in Springfield, OH ( Circa 1910).
One specific model, inscribed to Ridenour, was given by Douglas as a
gift for achieving Ohio State President of the Master Plumbers
Association in 1910!
John Douglas is known to have bought property in Pleasant Ridge on part
of the land that made up C.E. Brockmann's farm. Christian E. Brockmann
was a potter. He was born in Germany, July 4, 1834 and arrived in
Cincinnati around 1848. He founded and owned The Brockmann Pottery
Company. Douglas built the current house, a beautiful four-square house
(now 2927 Douglas Terrace), probably demolishing the former Brockmann
house. In the late 1920s, Douglas began selling off his farmland for
development.
A family relationship between John Douglas and John Douglas Ridenour has not been found.
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