Dr. Ralph and Mrs. Olga Crawford Canadian Dental Collection
Category
Diagnostic & Treatment Artifacts
Classification
Dental
Accession Number
010020050 a-b
Description
Round metal dental spittoon; top (a) has edges sloping down to cut-out circle in middle; shiny yellow on outside, matte yellow inside; fits on top of base (b); bowl with shiny yellow outside, white enamelled inside; bottom of base raised to allow liquids to fall down to edges
Round metal dental spittoon; top (a) has edges sloping down to cut-out circle in middle; shiny yellow on outside, matte yellow inside; fits on top of base (b); bowl with shiny yellow outside, white enamelled inside; bottom of base raised to allow liquids to fall down to edges
Number Of Parts
2
Part Names
a - top - Size: Length 5.0 cm x Diam. 23.5 cm
b - bottom - Size: Depth 9.8 cm x Diam. 21.8 cm
Provenance
Transfer from the Dental Canada Fund; previously housed in the Dentistry Canada Museum (Ottawa)
Dates
1890
1940
circa 1890-1940
Date Remarks
Based on similar artefacts
Material
metal: yellow
enamel: white
Permanent Location
Storage Room 0007
0007-D2-2
Temporary Location
On-site exhibit: "Trench Menders: Health Care in the First World War," 25 Feb, 2015.
Condition Remarks
Blue gum remnants on top of (a); inside of (b) very rusty around edge, darkened at centre; dents on top and bottom; metal tarnished on top and bottom
Copy Type
Original
Reference Types
Book
JPG
Reference Comments
"Dental Collectibles & Antiques", William and Jean G. Carter, 1992, p. 12 (similar to #041)
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; before dental offices had running water, unhygienic spittoons were the bane of most dentists' existences, as they had to clean them after every patient; spittoons were finally made obsolete by the 1970s with the use of high vacuum aspirators
Exhibit History
On exhibit, "Teeth in Time," Case #5, 29 March 2011 - November 2014