General Information

Serial #

6281C

Part Number

1

Total Parts

1

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

Metal base & frame with wooden armrests and leather-covered seat, backrest & headrest. plush red fabric covering on chair back frame (which serves as child's seat backrest.) painted leather (?) panels inserted in footrest.

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

125.0 cm

Width

60.0 cm

Height

100.0 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Medical Technology

Category

Dentistry

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

RITTER

Country

United States of America

State/Province

New York

City

Rochester

Context

Country

United States of America

State/Province

Vermont

Period

This type of chair used in early 20th century.

Canada

Example of dental chair, likely used by Canadian dentists in the early 20th century.

Function

Used to support head & neck of patient undergoing dental treatment, in a position most advantageous to the dentist.

Technical

Ritter began manufacturing "Columbia" line of chairs in 1891. These chairs were first to use hydraulic pressure for both raising & lowering mechanisms, and had telescoping tubes for easier up & down movement. (ref. 1, p.40.) This chair could be used for pediatric patients: the padded leather backrest folds down to become child's seat.

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

" [illegible] BY/ THE RITTER DENTAL MFG. COMPANY,/ ROCHESTER, N.Y./ U.S.A " & " IMPERIAL COLUMBIA CHAIR NO. 6281C/ PATENTS UNITED STATES/ Feb. 2, 1897, Apr. 11, 1899, June 4, 1901. Reissued/ Sept. 17, 1901 June 7, 1904, other pending./ Canada, Dec. 14, 1897. England. Sept. 3, 1897, May 5, 1904,/ Apr. 8, 1905. Germany, D.R.P. nos. 121213, 161983, 165923./ D.R.G.M. Nos. 231248, 231249, 237863, 275931. " printed on base of chair, under removeable seat. " TRADE/ [logo]/ MARK " printed on lower back of chair frame. " SPEED REGULATOR " adjustment labelled. "Imperial Columbia" on front. Paper label fixed to underside of removable seat pad reads: " TO POUR OIL IN CHAIR./ Remove small screw near centre of top under upholstered seat and pour contents of oil can into this hole, press down/ the lowering lever and work the pumping lever to force the air out of the pump before attempting to raise the chair. This chair/ should never have more than 3 quarts of oil./ TO REMOVE OIL FROM BASE./ Pump the chair to the highest position, open the rotating lever as far as possible, lift the chair [illegible] cylinder out of/ the base; rest the cylinder on the top edge of the base and lower the chair so that the oil in the [illegible] to the tank;/ when all the oil is out of the pump remove the oil from tank, replace cylinder and close locking lev[er] [illegible] will be ready/ to pack. Never work the main lever when there is no oil in the chair./ NOTICE./ The speed of lowering the chair may be regulated by turning the screw in the cylinder ( next to where the lowering lever/ enters) to the right for slower and to the left for faster./ If the rotating lever does not lock to suit the operator, remove the screw that holds the lever on the [l]ocking stud, take off/ the lever and replace one quarter turn to the right to loosen or one quarter turn to the left to tighten./ In case of any trouble with the lifting mechanism, it can be examined by taking the cylinder out of the base and laying the/ chair body on its side by the same directions as for removing oil from the base./ To take out the lifting mechanism, remove the top from the base when the chair is in the lowest position, open the rotary lever, lift/ the cylinder out of the tank and rest on the edge to allow the oil to drain, then remove the lid in front of main lever and remove/ the main lever spring, then take out small screw which connects part of the pump to the outer guiding tube from the bottom and/ take out the entire pump by removing the four bolts./ In case of wear, the guide tubes must be adjusted by tightening the nickel-plated ring in top of cylinder to adjust outer guide/ tube, and the nickel-plated ring in top of outer guide tube adjust the inner tube by use of the spanner./ In case of accident, and parts being broken, write us, describing part and number of same, also the number of the chair/ which will be found on the iron part under the upholstered seat./ THE RITTER DENTAL MFG. CO.,/ 563-565 St. Paul St.,/ Rochester, N.Y., U.S.A./ CHAIR No. 6281 C ".

Missing

N/A

Finish

Base & frame- black 'enamel' type finish/ footrest, headrest framework & pedals- nickel plated/ oak (?) wood armrests/ padded black leather seat, backrest & headrest/ plush red fabric covering on child seat's backrest/ leather panels in footrest painted light grey, with inset black piping.

Decoration

On base & framework- gold piping & elaborate scroll work (scroll & shell patterns- possibly hand painted)