“Next to abundant daylight, no method of lighting so well satisfies the individual doing work of an exacting nature as having his own light readily adjustable to the position desired; from any direction, at any angle, and at the right distance.”    — O.C. White

Clearly Otis Converse White was a man after our own heart. The details mattered immensely to him – indeed, he made his name and his legacy by creating adjustable joints. While his innovations weren’t very large in scale, they had enormous influence in his day, changing how people worked. Since then, his influence has not abated one bit. We jumped at the chance to partner with the O.C. White Company, not only so we can keep White’s inventions alive, but also we can keep passing White’s exceptional story on, too.

From Dentist to Inventor

Born in 1837 in Massachusetts, White grew up to be a dental surgeon, with an office in Hopkinton, Mass. A consummate tinkerer, White developed one of the first modern dental chairs by designing a headrest and adjustable back.

“Modern” dental chair

White’s first patent, No. 62,794, was for these improvements. Throughout the 1870s, he continued to patent his inventions for the chairs and rests, and, more importantly, the adjustable joints that made them work so well.

O.C. White’s first patent 

Patenting the Ball and Socket Joint

The crux of White’s genius lay not in the chairs themselves, but in their mechanics. After White patented his numerous adjustable joints, he quickly set about figuring out where else he might use them. Thomas Edison’s new invention gave him the answer.

The years between 1882 and 1892 saw the rise of electric lighting. Because light bulbs were dim, it was crucial to get the bulb close to what it lit. White foresaw that marrying his adjustable devices to electric lamps would make the new lighting technology infinitely more useful.

Advertisement featuring patented ball and socket joint

Winning the Day

White showed off his inventions at various Exhibitions and World’s Fairs around the country. These were excellent places to pique interest and garner awards, as he did at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition and the 1901 Pan American Exposition.

 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition award

1901 Pan American Exposition award

Revolutionizing the World of Work

In the 1800s, people were often required to do jobs that needed a lot of light without being given the proper light to do it. By bringing the light to the worker, O.C. White’s fixtures made it possible for them to complete their tasks more efficiently and with less eye strain.

 O.C. White fixtures installed at Mills Woven Cartridge Belt Factory c.1916

 O.C. White in the Home

Though best known for bringing light to the worker, O.C. White fixtures also brought light to the home. These early advertisements for task lights “in the home” and “in the library” are said to feature none other than White himself, and his son, Otis C. White, Jr., who led the O.C. White Co. from 1901 until the 1950s.

Early advertisements featuring O.C. White, left,and O.C. White Jr., right 

To see more O.C. White, make sure to visit our Pinterest board, The Real Deal .