Invented in the early 19th century, the tramp chair was a cage made of bent and riveted metal straps in the shape of a chair. An individual could be placed inside the chair and locked up securely, the chair thus acting as a jail cell, particularly in towns too small to build a jail. It was sometimes placed on a wheeled platform so it could be moved around easily.[2]
As its name suggests, the tramp chair was often used for vagrants who could be left inside it for a day or two as encouragement to move along.[3] Made of iron, it would heat up or cool down uncomfortably depending on the weather, and town residents could jeer at and harass the occupant. It left no room to move around, so it would be very uncomfortable to sit in for a prolonged stretch of time. The American Police Hall of Fame and Police Museum in Miami states that "often the prisoner was stripped naked and the kids from the area would poke him with sticks."
The tramp chair was invented and made by Sanford Baker of Oakland, Maine. An original chair is in the Smithsonian and another is in the Bangor (Maine) Police Museum.
The first person ever known to escape from this device was escapologist Theodore Hardeen, the brother of Harry Houdini.
tramp, chair, tramp, chair, person, restraining, device, used, american, police, largely, during, 19th, century, mild, form, torture, public, humiliation, invented, early, 19th, century, tramp, chair, cage, made, bent, riveted, metal, straps, shape, chair, ind. The tramp chair was a one person restraining device used by American police largely during the 19th century as a mild form of torture and public humiliation 1 Invented in the early 19th century the tramp chair was a cage made of bent and riveted metal straps in the shape of a chair An individual could be placed inside the chair and locked up securely the chair thus acting as a jail cell particularly in towns too small to build a jail It was sometimes placed on a wheeled platform so it could be moved around easily 2 As its name suggests the tramp chair was often used for vagrants who could be left inside it for a day or two as encouragement to move along 3 Made of iron it would heat up or cool down uncomfortably depending on the weather and town residents could jeer at and harass the occupant It left no room to move around so it would be very uncomfortable to sit in for a prolonged stretch of time The American Police Hall of Fame and Police Museum in Miami states that often the prisoner was stripped naked and the kids from the area would poke him with sticks The tramp chair was invented and made by Sanford Baker of Oakland Maine An original chair is in the Smithsonian and another is in the Bangor Maine Police Museum The first person ever known to escape from this device was escapologist Theodore Hardeen the brother of Harry Houdini See also editTorture in the United States Domestic police and prisonsReferences edit Vintage instrument of humiliation tramp chair returns to Oakland Press Herald June 10 2017 Retrieved November 11 2023 The Tramp Chair American Police Hall of Fame Archived from the original on 19 August 2003 Curtis Abigail 2015 05 23 Tramp chair on display at Searsport museum Bangor Daily News Retrieved 2022 09 05 nbsp This torture related article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tramp chair amp oldid 1186837518, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
