In 1956, LIFE magazine ran an article titled 'A Treasury of Old Tubbery', which featured a number of historic bathing apparatuses. The one I've selected to share is from the 1880s; it was originally described as 'the common sense invention of the age'. My immediate reaction is to wonder what inventions would be considered nonsensical, but then we live in a time when the home bathing experience is enhanced by colored lights, musical scores and even vibrating tubs.Nota bene: The omnipotent Google has made available the contents of a huge number of LIFE issues online; if you have a soft spot for blasts from the past, I guarantee you'll spend hours and hours paging through them. I did.