McKenzie Mitts Handcuffs. Kansas [?], ca. 1925. Scarce

McKenzie Mitts Handcuffs. Kansas [?], ca. 1925. Scarce black variant of this famous set of handcuffs, which were also offered with a nickel-plated finish. Near-fine condition. Sold together with an extensive monograph by John Bushey detailing the history, manufacture, and popularity of the cuffs. Invented by Jacob Oliver McKenzie, a sheriff from Phillipsburg, Kansas, the “steel mittens” were devised after a prisoner captured by McKenzie grabbed the sheriff’s gun and shot him in the leg. The Mitts were developed to immobilize a prisoner’s hands entirely while restrained.