Dr. Ralph and Mrs. Olga Crawford Canadian Dental Collection
Category
Dental
Classification
Dental
Accession Number
010020002 a-b
Description
Wooden dental chair (a); round metal and wood base which tapers up toward the seat; seven levers raise level of chair and recline it via an internal hydraulic system; stuffed black leather-covered seat (b) and back; seat back fabric bolted with metal studs along border; adjustable wooden arm-rests …
Wooden dental chair (a); round metal and wood base which tapers up toward the seat; seven levers raise level of chair and recline it via an internal hydraulic system; stuffed black leather-covered seat (b) and back; seat back fabric bolted with metal studs along border; adjustable wooden arm-rests enamelled in black on top; footrest with white and grey knit-patterned rubber inserts with metal border and supported by wooden base; self-adjusting rounded metal head rest with two black leather-covered cushions on either side and is height-adjustable via two levers on back of chair; manufacturer's name painted in gold on wooden seat front; decorative gold paint around footrest, seat, base; manufacturer's label affixed to chair with list of patents and years
Number Of Parts
2
Part Names
a - chair - Size: Length 1.16 m x Width 1.16 m x Depth 45.8 cm
b - cushion - Size: Length 46.0 cm x Width 45.0 cm x Depth 7.0 cm
Provenance
Transfer from the Dental Canada Fund; previously housed in the Dentistry Canada Museum (Ottawa)
(a) Painted on front of chair: "Ritter"; embossed on rubber lever: "Ritter"; painted on back of base: "SPEED REGULATOR"; engraved on bottom of footrest: "c 136"; printed underneath seat cushion: "RITTER CHAIR // RITTER DENTAL MFG. CO. INC. ROCHESTER, N.Y. // SERIAL NO. 54717 MADE IN U.S.A."; painted underneath seat cushion: "SEE INSTRUCTIONS // ON UPHOLSTERED SEAT"
Permanent Location
Storage Room W2
W2-538-3-1
Condition Remarks
Metal rusted on bottom of foot rest, headrest, base and some levers; crack on bottom of base; leather on seat and headrest is new
Copy Type
Original
Reference Types
Book
Internet
JPG
Reference Comments
“S.S. White Dental Catalog, Catalog-E”, S.S. White Dental Mfg. Co., 1917, p. 8 (similar to S.S. White Diamond Chair); "A Catalogue of Ritter Dental Equipment", Ritter Dental Mfg. Co., 1919, p. 8; "Schraeder Electronics" website
CD #9
Research Facts
Dr Ralph and Mrs Olga Crawford donated their extensive Canadian dental collection to the DCF to create the museum in 1997; further donations were received while Dr Crawford was Curator Emeritus at the Dental Canada Museum until its closure in 2008; this item was donated by Dr. Christopher Clark from Vancouver, British Columbia; Frank Ritter had settled in Rochester, NY as a cabinet-maker before manufacturing the Stuck dental chair in 1888, the first chair with a round metal base; later models featured the first use of hydraulics to raise and lower the chair, a revolution for its time; the design was not significantly changed until the 1960s