*** Acoustic ( Hearing Aid ) Chair ***

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* Acoustic ( Hearing Aid ) Chair *

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Sold Date: 06/10/2007
Channel: Online Auction
Source: eBay
Category: Tools

An extremely rare Acoustic (Hearing) Chair for serious collectors to highlight their antique hearing aid collection. Definitely unusual and most likely a One-of-a-Kind item ... Professionally Restored and Ready to Display ...

As a collector and restorer of Antique hearing devices, I could not resist the purchase and restoration of this unique Acoustic (Hearing) Chair. I have been collecting and restoring hearing devices for 16 years. This is the first time I have been able to obtain a unit this rare and unusual.

I am aware of only a very few Acoustic chairs that have ever been produced for the hearing impaired.

1.) 1819 - An acoustic throne was created by F. C. Rein & Son of London for King John VI of Portugal (also called King Goa VI ). King John VI used the Acoustic throne from about 1819 until his death in 1826, while ruling from Brazil .

2.) 1841 - An Acoustic chair was produced and offered to the public by John Harrison Curtis of England .

3.) 1879 - An Acoustic chair was produced and offered to the public by Irish physician William A. McKeown.

After purchase of this unit, I contacted the majority of the participants in the United States and Europe that routinely collect antique hearing devices but none were able to give exact information on the date that this acoustic chair was built or the name of the creator. We offer the following opinions for your consideration.

The name "Epping" is stamped on the right rear leg of the chair. Research tells me that t was indeed a furniture manufacturer operating in Epping , England at this time in history, tfore, I presume that the chair was made by this company given the age, type of wood and style of construction.

I had the chair restored by an Amish gentleman operating out of Nappanee , IN. Because he is a person that restores antique furniture as a business, so I asked his opinion of the chair. His estimation is that the chair was a general production chair and the date of production would fall between 1850 and 1900. The chair was built without the use of any metal, nails or screws. All of the joints are held together with glue, of which only 3 rungs were slightly loose at the beginning of the project. T are 4 wooden "square" pins that strengthen the top back brace as can be seen in the photos.

Restoration process - Chair = The entire chair was cleaned, lightly hand sanded, the 3 rungs re-glued, original scribe lines were redefined, stained with Minwax Early American stain to match the original finish and a new seat with a decorative middle back brace added. All of the marks and dings from the years of use were left in the chair to maintain the antique look. The original chair seat was constructed with splints in a herringbone design. After much discussion, the decision was made to change the seat to a different style using Hemp Cord (imported from Hungary ) and to add a hemp cord highlight to the middle back brace. The chair seemed quite plain prior to the restoration and we wanted to add some color variation to enhance the overall beauty of this very unusual acoustic chair. Even though we were very pleased with the results, the new owner could easily return the seat and back to the original look if desired. No finish was added to the chair after the stain was applied. This would change the look and feel of the chair and the new owner will need to make the decision whether to complete this step.

Restoration process - Hearing Apparatus = I undertook the project of restoring the hearing apparatus. I have re-stored 100s of antique hearing aids over the years and this was a project I enjoyed. The entire system was thoroughly cleaned "inside/out" and then all metal was polished with Simichrome polish (imported from Germany ). The large chips that were missing from the hearing horn were repaired and formed to blend with the original material. Again, no attempt was made to remove the scratches and dings in the unit from the years of use, so as to maintain the antique look. All of the metal parts were given 2 coats of a hi...