Anyone seen anything like this ?? Another stumper !!

[mart]

https://www.kovels.com/discussions/question/please-help-identify-this-characteristic-of-old-chair.html

Anyone have an idea what these metal things are ??  There is a button type release but they don`t do anything and are not attached to anything !!  I thought maybe a late version of a Morris type chair that had been re-vamped over the years !! there is a close up of the metal thing if you scroll down !! They are identical and at the same place under each chair arm !!
Ideas anyone ??

[Ipcress]

Were they for restraints ? Those are rather pronounced hand grips on the arms.
The back doesn’t look right.

[cogar]

If that is a ¾” bevel that is cut into the outside edge of the arm then the metal mechanism may have been for adding a “temporary” extension to the width of the arm.  Maybe for writing or eating purposes.

[ghopper1924]

It looks like the chair would have been associated with some kind of early 20th century institutional use.

[mart]

Certainly possible Ghopper !!  I know the UK has had some speciality items made for invalids so perhaps this was one of those !!  Weird thing is I can see nothing the button actually might do but it could have been for arm restraints and the button was the release !!

[cogar]

It needs something to affix a "restraint" to ....... before there is a need for a "button" to release it.

And given the fact the mechanisms are underneath the chair arms, ....... whatever they do, ....... me thinks they have to be activated/deactivated from a standing position.

[talesofthesevenseas]

I think rather than a restraint, (this chair is not "industrial" enough for that) the button was to secure a tray across the front for eating, handicrafts, books etc.

[Rauville]

It looks like the chair would have been associated with some kind of early 20th century institutional use.

I agree; maybe could have been used at the local "County Poor Farm".

[SophieMarie]

Were they for restraints ? Those are rather pronounced hand grips on the arms.
The back doesn’t look right.

Ipcress and Grasshopper, I think you may be right on this one.  I thought the same thing when I first saw the chair but didn't want to appear a bit "warped" in my idea, so thanks for stepping up first ha! You'll see there are scratches from wear under the chair arm (against the grain) if you look more closely.  This also added to the idea of a restraint chair.

[talesofthesevenseas]

Wow, looking up poorhouse chair brought up some terrible results! The photo above looks much nicer than a lot of poorhouses were! My ancestor's brother ended up in the poorhouse/insane asylum in Preston NY in the 1880s. I read through the first hand inspection reports (state annual inspection) written during the time he was there and... sheesh. Terrible things. The place was run by a "keeper" who was absent on business 90 percent of the time leaving his wife and a young girl helper to take care of all the inmates, both poor and mentally ill. There were reports of people who were confined to cages, filth throughout, a woman strapped to a commode chair because otherwise she continually soiled herself and her surroundings and more. My ancestor's brother died in the institution of "heart failure" after just six months. He had outlived the family's ability to care for him and that was how he ended up there. He had been cared for first by his parents, then a sister who developed severe rheumatoid arthritis. Fortunately he died before the 1890s when the place burned and those inmates that did not perish in the fire went running loose. Local farmers tied them to trees to restrain them until they were rounded up. For more information look up Preston Poorhouse and Preston Poorhouse Fire.

[ghopper1924]

What a horrible end for your ancestor's brother. I empathize with him, and everyone else who ends up with nothing at the end of their lives.

[mart]

Many similar cases are just called "homeless" now !!

[KC]

Wow...just breaks my heart.  I am so sorry to hear that Talesof!

There are many nursing homes/mental wards/juvenile centers that are still pretty horrific.

The wear appears to be on the underside towards the outsider edge of the arms.  Could it possible have had small tables that attached to the outside?  Such as "similar" to this one (I know this one has hinges tho')  ?


Or have a table attachment such as one on older model highchairs that goes across the front?
 

If it was for binding/strapping - wouldn't the wear have come up over the edge and show wear there as well (and not just the underside)?  I know they probably had to custom adapt items for invalids, etc.

[mart]

Thats what we are trying to figure out !!

[cogar]

The wear appears to be on the underside towards the outsider edge of the arms.  Could it possible have had small tables that attached to the outside? Such as "similar" to this one ?

Thanks, KC.

As the ole saying goes, ..... "Great minds think alike",      to wit"

Reply #2 on: January 24, 2018, 06:22:10 AM »

If that is a ¾” bevel that is cut into the outside edge of the arm then the metal mechanism may have been for adding a “temporary” extension to the width of the arm.  Maybe for writing or eating purposes.

KC, I searched for a picture like you posted but no luck at finding one.

You'll see there are scratches from wear under the chair arm (against the grain) if you look more closely. 

Installing an “extension” to the side of …. or on top of the chair arm …… is surely what caused the “cross-grain” scratches. 

And the “dark” stain on the underside of the arm is surely due to “water spillage” that was not wiped clean.

Water stain on untreated oak, to wit: