Key for rigid speed handcuffs manufactured by Hiatt and Company

Hiatt & Co. Ltd., British, founded 1780 · 2000s

Produced by one of the oldest, most prolific producers of iron restraints, Hiatt and Company, these contemporary cuffs materialize a deep connection between racial slavery, the carceral state, and militarization. Established in Birmingham England, in 1780, Hiatt and Company supplied slave traders across the Atlantic with handcuffs, collars, and chains well into the 19th century—long after the abolition of slavery in Britain and the United States. Two centuries after its founding, Hiatt became the first British company to introduce the rigid cuff design seen here and now used worldwide by police and militaries.