1938 Crane Corwith Compeer Lavatory

[Ultramatic]

 

 

I got this from a nice couple a few years ago at Newport, Rhode Island. Manufactured in November, 1938. It is complete with towel bars, legs, mounting brackets etc. The only thing missing is the pop-up drain. The lever to operate it moves from side to side, instead of the usual up and down. It is extremely heavy. This will be part of our bathroom refresh.

 



 



 



 

 

[tomturbomatic]

Beautiful sink

I remember one of those in a beautiful soft green bathroom in a house of the period. I thought that the cast in spout for the faucet was neat.

My sister's wedding reception was in Crane Cottage on Jekyll Island--lotsa plumbing fixtures, but sadly the resort, in its heyday, did not have very efficient sewage treatment and all of the goyim (it was restricted) eating the oysters would spawn a typhoid outbreak each season. It was said that the millionaires came with the first frost up north and left with the arrival of the first mosquito. The Jekyll Island Club was closed with the start of WWII because of German U boats off shore and so many captains of American Industry vulnerable to attack or kidnapping.

 

[circlew]

Nice sink, Louis!

Crane fixtures have a distinctive style that sets them apart, and seem to be of exceptional quality. I think your particular lav, the Corwith Compeer, was available for a relatively short time. The April 1940 Crane price list shows it as being discontinued; the newer Drexel style likely replaced it.

 

The soft green bathroom Tomturbomatic saw would have been Crane's "Pale Jade" color, a shade that was available for many years.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Tom, Thank you for the name. The main bath in the house that my parents had built in 1955 was that color, sink, toilet, tub, towel bars and tile walls. The floor tiles were a soft yellow.

 

[Ultramatic]

 

 

Thanks guys. Here are a couple of images from the backside. The pop-up drain is proving to be difficult to source.

 



 

 

[rp2813]

Louie,

I'm stating the obvious here, but it looks to me like the pop-up system has a similar mechanism to those used for bathtub drains.  Maybe there's a way to rig something based on that design for your beautiful sink.  It's a good time to start hitting the salvage yards before the winter weather hits!

 

[circlew]

Louis, you might try DEA Bathroom Machineries, at deabath.com. They have a lot of parts for Crane.

 

[Ultramatic]

 

 

Hi Tom. I emailed them yesterday. Unfortunately they didn't have it.

 

[gansky1]

I bought an American Standard sink similar to this style and era in buttery yellow at Habitat around the time they were clearing out all fixtures, dishwashers, etc. that had even a remote chance of containing lead.  I found lots of parts available on ebay and deabath.com but ended up not restoring the sink at it was too large for the small bathroom.  

 

Your hole looks like it will take any standard pop-up.   Look for the best quality you can find, the sidewalk sale candidates will usually disappoint in short order. 

Pardon Our Interruption...

 

[Ultramatic]

Thanks Gan

 

 

It DOES look like it would take a modern pop-up drain. If nothing original shows up, I'll give it a try.

 

[Ultramatic]

 

 

Another view of the complete drain assembly needed.

 

 

[circlew]

Louis, if you can't find the right drain assembly, and a new pop-up won't work correctly, there is another option. If you never fill the bowl, you could install a grid type drain, like commonly used in commercial restrooms. You could leave the trip lever in place, though nonfunctional.

 

[sarahperdue]

Pop up drains

I got one from DEA and one from Union Brass. I'm assuming that DEA isn't an option since you've already checked. Try Union or Kingston Brass.

You might also try [email protected]

Sarah

 

[Ultramatic]

 

 

Hi Tom. Thanks for the suggestion. I am in a plumbing forum and it was suggested a good quality brass pop-up assembly would work. As I mentioned earlier, if I can't find the original Crane I'll go that route.

 

[Ultramatic]

 

 

Hi Sarah. Thank you for the other sites I can check.

 

[Ultramatic]

 

 

Some better images of the original Crane pop-up mechanism.

 



 



 



 

 

[ea56]

Louie,

I think you could use a new popup drain and attach it to the existing rod and lever system. True you wouldn’t have the Crane logo, but you would have a functioning popup drain. Just get the best one you can find with a good chrome finish. BTW, that sink is beautiful! I know it will look great in your home,

Eddie

 

[oliger]

I have a crane sink as well. House built in 1910. When the original pop up drain wore out, it got replaced with a straight drain that has a chain & rubber stopper. I couldn't find an original style drain anywhere, and a standard replacement wouldn't work as the mechanism was on the inside of the China. I eventually did find a brand new correct drain, but it was around $400 at the time. Astronomical. The chain & stopper work fine, and it fits the old asthetic of the sink.

 

[Ultramatic]

 

 

Very nice sink Jon. But I would prefer for it to be as close to the original as possible. I ordered a pop-up assembly that should work with a little adjusting.

[this post was last edited: 10/17/2021-20:15]