Antique 1920s American White Enameled Medical Examination Chair

You know this chair. Not this one exactly, but what it means. The white enamel, the reclining back, the headrest, the armrests that do not ask permission. A medical examination chair from the 1920s carries a specific kind of weight, and this one carries it completely. The frame is white enameled cast iron and tubular steel, the back an open oval with a Y-shaped center strut, construction fully consistent with the leading American medical equipment manufacturers of that era, including the Frank S. Betz Company of Hammond, Indiana. The round seat pan swivels on a threaded spindle above four curved tubular legs joined by a circular floor stretcher, all with original black rubber foot caps. The back reclines on an original cast iron ratchet and serrated plate mechanism with butterfly levers on both sides. A hundred years old and it moves with smooth, unhurried precision. The headrest carries two original dark leather pillow pads on an adjustable chrome post with a cross-handled locking collar. The armrests are bare cast iron, unpainted. This chair has not been restored and is sold as found. The overall condition is good. The enamel shows one notable chip on the back frame and crazing at stress points throughout. The headrest leather is dried and cracking at the edges, original and intact.

Kimberly Jay leaned back in it with her bare feet lifted free of the floor, the white enamel cold against the backs of her thighs. River Love held the chrome post of the headrest and let the ratchet take her weight, slow and certain, one click at a time. Both of them knew what kind of chair this is. That knowledge is still in it. It does not leave a thing like this.