Restraining Chair, 1811

Engraving of a restraining chair or tranquilizing chair of 1811, which was designed by American doctor Benjamin Rush (1745-1813). Here a mental patient is shown strapped into the chair. He has a device on his head to restrict movement. The chair has a bucket attached to the underside to catch the patient's excreta. An influential physician, Rush tried to establish humane conditions for the treatment of the insane and is known as the father of American psychiatry'. However, he also believed that insanity could be cured by bleeding and purging the patient

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1811 Asylum Insane Insanity Mental Mentally Psychiatric Psychiatry Restrained Restraining Restraint Strapped

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