Tramp chair
The tramp chair was a one-person restraining device used by American police, largely during the 19th century, as a form of torture and public humiliation. 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.
Tramp chair
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The tramp chair was a one-person restraining device used by American police, largely during the 19th century, as a form of torture and public humiliation. 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.
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wikidata · Q17014309 · wikipedia · Tramp chair
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It was sometimes placed on a wheeled platform so it could be moved around easily. 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 known to escape from this device was escapologist Theodore Hardeen, the brother of Harry Houdini.
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- Wikidata, structured authority record Q17014309: Tramp chair
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- “Tramp chair”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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