1998.3225.1
Table, examination
Wooden; collapsible; wooden legs with metal hardware; adjustable backrest
H x W x L 1' 9 5/8" x 1' 10 1/4" x 6' 2 1/4" open is the length.
Similarly-designed tables but perforated also were known as “cooling boards” because cold air from ice blocks underneath helped preserve the body. In some situations, this “laying out board” was an actual board that could be put on a support stand or on the bed for embalming. Once on the cooling board, the corpse’s arms traditionally were folded across the chest and legs bound near the feet.
2013.4.1
Table, operating
Embalming table with a white porcelain enamel top. Base is tripod shaped on casters. Cast in arm that adjusts tilting mechanism labeled “PAT March 1908” and “The Embalmers Supply, Westport, Conn USA.” H x W x L 2' 7 1/2" x 2' 1" x 6' 6."
Similar to embalming tables today, this support platform could be tilted and raised in height, incorporates a drain opening, and has raised edges. Tilting enables one extremity of a corpse to be elevated or lowered for proper draining of blood and for distribution of embalming fluid to body parts. Its manufacturer now known as ESCO claims to have manufactured the nation’s first embalming tables in 1903.