Very early design WWI, Circa 1912, USA

This is a beautiful early design of the hand held urinal.  To me, it is so interesting to see the evolution of its design.  Here we see the unusual handle placement that we have talked about (looks to be almost an after thought).  This urinal has one of the smallest openings of any urinal in my collection at only 1 3/8"(a tight fit for almost any grown man).  It is my opinion that this urinal was designed before the popularity of circumcision (around 1912) and that the foreskin was actually used to "dock" with this vessel to create a water tight seal.  This design of the flowing sides was later given up to the more bulbous designs we see in the 40's and 50's.  Strangely we see this design come back in the 60's although with wider openings and better handle placement.  Notice the craftsmanship where the two halves of the vessel come together and the welds are completely ground down to be smooth.  If you are holding this urinal steady between your legs in bed, that is a very important detail to avoid irritation.  In other designs I will share in the future you will see how this detail is overlooked.  That this urinal has survived in such good condition is both rare and phenomenal.