A Caughley spittoon or saffer pot transfer-printed in the Columbine and Ripe Fruit pattern, circa 1778-85, C mark, 10.5cm high Provenance: Wright Collection no. 159, purchased in 1978. The use of spittoons proliferated in public areas such as banks, railways stations, taverns, brothels and other places where large numbers of people (particularly men) gathered. Use of spittoons was considered an advance of public manners and health, intended to replace the previously common practice of spitting on floors, streets, and sidewalks. Many places passed laws against spitting in public other than into a spittoon, however from the 1800s onwards this was mainly discouraged in England due to the idea that it would spread disease such as tuberculosis.