Dr. Ralph and Mrs. Olga Crawford Canadian Dental Collection
Category
Diagnostic & Treatment Artifacts
Classification
Dental
Accession Number
010020062 a-f
Description
Metal foot-powered dental drill; triangular base with foot pedal attached (a) enamelled in black with gold decoration around base; pedal has manufacturer's logo embossed in grey in middle; silver metal pole attaches foot pedal to wheel, which spins when foot pedal is pushed down; wheel has four cur…
Metal foot-powered dental drill; triangular base with foot pedal attached (a) enamelled in black with gold decoration around base; pedal has manufacturer's logo embossed in grey in middle; silver metal pole attaches foot pedal to wheel, which spins when foot pedal is pushed down; wheel has four curved spokes and is attached to upright support; dental drill (b) made up of adjustable silver metal handpiece attached to coiled metal tube covered with black rubber, black fabric-covered rubber tube leading to silver metal attachment with wheel at end; silver-enamelled metal pole (c) with two knobs near bottom goes into base with drill attaching at top; green fabric belt (d) attaches to wheels; screw (e) and plate (f) attach to pole
Number Of Parts
6
Part Names
a - base - Size: Length 62.0 cm x Width 47.0 cm x Depth 30.0 cm
b - drill - Size: Length 1.01 m x Width 8.6 cm x Depth 3.2 cm
c - pole - Size: Length 85.6 cm x Width 5.8 cm x Depth 2.3 cm
d - belt - Size: Length 1.42 m x Diam. 0.2 cm
e - screw - Size: Length 2.3 cm x Width 2.2 cm x Depth 2.2 cm
f - plate - Size: Length 2.0 cm x Width 1.8 cm x Depth 0.7 cm
Provenance
Transfer from the Dental Canada Fund; previously housed in the Dentistry Canada Museum (Ottawa)
(a) Engraved on base: "38952"; (b) engraved on handpiece: "THE S.S. WHITE DENTAL MFG. CO. // MADE IN U.S. OF A. // DDM // Co"; engraved on attachment: "C. ASH & SONS // ENGLAND"; (e) engraved on screw: "C.D.MFG.CO. // CLEVELAND, O."
Permanent Location
Storage Room W2
W2-536-2-1
Condition Remarks
Enamel chipped on base, pedal, wheel; rubber brittle and bent where handpiece attaches to rubber tube; metal attachment almost completely severed from rubber tube; enamel chipping on (c); there is a separate smaller pole stuck in (c); most likely missing a piece as drill (b) does not fit into pole (c) as it should
Copy Type
Original
Reference Types
Book
JPG
Reference Comments
“S.S. White Dental Catalog, Catalog-B”, S.S. White Dental Mfg. Co., 1917, p. 2-3 (similar to S.S. White Cable Engine); "James Beall Morrison: The Visionary who Revolutionized the Practice of Dentistry", Malvin E. Ring and Neal Hurley, Journal of the ADA, 2000:131, p. 1165-66
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; the foot-powered dental drill was patented in 1871 by American inventor James Beall Morrison