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Whitcomb Dental Chair
Late 1860’s | Object #: 0282.0001
Built in the Neo-Rococo style to mimic a Victorian parlor, this chair’s technological features are as impressive as its intricately carved lion arms.
An S.S. White catalog from 1867, describes its workings:
“Being mounted on a large ball, the body of the chair may be reclined backward and to either side. Another crank communicates motion to the apparatus under the seat for adjusting to any required height, and working so freely in its bearings but little exertion is required.”
It was listed for $220, equal to about $4,700 in today’s currency.
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4/4: 1860: The Whitcomb Dental Operating Chair was the first to permit raising and lowering of the seated patient. Courtesy of Pictorial Histories Publishing Co, Missoula, MT - Glenner, 1984
Pre 1890 chairs
1/5: 1832: Englishman James Snell made the first mechanical dental chair with an adjustable seat and back. Leaning back in this circa- 1830s mobile reclining chair (A3.1) automatically raises the footrest. University of the Pacific Permanent Collection, Donor: Unknown. Photograph by Jon Draper.
2/5: 1868: A unique mechanism in the James Beall Morrison Dental Chair allowed the dentist to tilt the patient in any direction. Courtesy of Abrams/Mosby Publ, New York, NY — Ring, 1985
3/5: 1872: Four years later, J.B. Morrison invented the first chair with an unprecedented vertical range of 27 inches. Such height adjustment flexibility allowed the dentist to choose between working while sitting or while standing. Courtesy of Pictorial Histories Publishing Co, Missoula, MT - Glenner, 1984
4/5: S.S. White Dental Manufacturing Co., Cycloid Dental Chair Original Upholstery. Patented December 28, 1875, the cycloid dental chair catered to the beginning dentist. The chair was lightweight and yet well balanced.
5/5: Patent
Neo Recoco Style
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