3 Centuries of Door Hardware, 1840-1940

The year 1840 is the patent date of the first patented cast iron thumb latch (see #8). This event heralds the end of handcrafted locks. Pouring iron into moulds enabled mass production of these latches. This period is generally recognized as the dawn of the Industrial Revolution and birth of the economics of scale. The larger the operation the more profitable it could be. A similar evolution was evident in many aspects of hardware production. Square iron nails were each hand cut and faceted by a blacksmith using chisels until 1790. Thereafter shearing machines cut them until they were made from wire in 1851 and steel 1883. Similarly, screws were hand cut with filed threads until 1810 after which they were punched from steel.

Figure 8.

In 1851John Pepper patented “Mineral Knobs” now generally known as porcelain knobs (white, black and Bennington brown- see #9) to supplement the prevalent use of wooden, and pressed or mercury glass knobs. During the next fifty years hundreds of patents were issued to famous names such as Linus Yale, Phillip Corbin, Walter Schlage, Sargent & Co., Mallory & Wheeler and Russell & Erwin to name a few. The surface mounted cast iron box lock or “rim lock” became a Canadian standard (see # 9). Dynamite was invented in 1867 adding a new dimension to security issues. The British designed a widely accepted “mortised” case that was buried in the edge of the door- a location requiring the latch to retract and release into a strike plate instead of having to lift and drop onto the strike (see #10). Lever tumblers replaced heavy wards and upgraded the security of keyed locks. Then in a fina1 1865 refinement to keyed locks Linus Yale fitted them with cylindrical keyways in which delicate spring loaded “pin-tumblers” had to conform to an exactly contoured key for the key to function.

Figure 9.

Figure 10.

Undoubtedly the most apparent advance for hardware during this period was in the realm of aesthetics. It flows from a patent granted to the Metallic Compression Casting Company (MCCC) of Boston in1869. When MCCC introduced its hitherto unparalleled and exquisitely designed bronze castings Russell &Erwin (R&E) was using 91/2 tons of iron per day in the manufacture of its hardware. Not to be outdone, R&E bought MCCC, commissioned more artists and spurred on by the wealth in circulation during those expansive times led the decorative hardware industry through its high-water years. The style that launched the decorative frenzy was called Eastlake- distinguished by bronze fittings crisply incised with geometric patterns, three-dimensional figurals and later, Japanese and mid-eastern motifs (see#10). Lion and dog doorknobs designed by MCCC’s Ludwig Kreuzinger are each valued by today’s collectors in excess of $2000 USD. The heyday lasted for half a century. Records indicate that in1897 New York State alone produced 30,000 doors per day. They all needed hardware.

The industrialization of civilizations alters their social order. The middle class, consisting largely of artisans, farmers and merchants is vastly diminished as mass production replaces individual handwork and the appeal of steady jobs and abundant material goods draws people to the manufacturing centres. In1879 Sir John A MacDonald’s protectionist National Policy encouraged “local initiative”. This undermined local self- sufficiency and in the 1890’s moved communities to mass consumer activity as industrialists and investors sought ever bigger markets. Growth momentum shifted from country to city and rural depopulation began. From 1840 to1891 the population of southern Ontario grew from 500,000 to 2,000,000. Cities held 25% of the population. By 1908 the cities held 50% and today they hold 80% of our population. Canadian enterprises like the Gurney, Peterborough and Belleville lock companies entered the marketplace only to fold or be taken over by bigger competitors. This is the Darwinian aspect of industrialization: a predominately middle class erodes and is replaced by untrained workers and wealthy industrialists while amongst competing companies only the strongest survive. Large merchants swallow small merchants. By the turn of the century competing hardware companies were under growing pressure to bid large orders but with a sharp pencil. This of course resulted in a compromise of quality. After the Eastlake Style (1865-1890) ran its course industrial designers created patterns reflecting successive prevailing tastes. They successfully outfitted and beautifully adorned the built heritage during our Victorian (1880-1915), Arts and Crafts (1895-1920) and Art Deco (1925-1950) periods (see#11).

The economic realities of depression and war weighed heavily on the industrialized world and left no industry unscathed. If the Arts and Crafts period was a look back with a yearning for simpler times, then so too are all the Revival Styles (see#11-Gothic, Tudor, Spanish, Colonial etc.,) a look back.

The difference is that the Arts and Crafts era grew from a philosophy about life after the excesses of the Victorian era whereas “Revival Style” is a marketing ploy. Arts & Crafts was a period that Stickley, Morris, Tiffany & Wright immortalized with their work. Revival Style is a creation of developers whose interpretations of past designs lose meaning with each reproduction.

Figure 11.

There is tremendous value in the styles of times gone by because they reflect societies’ values, if you look hard enough. What say you then of hardware generated by an industry bereft of novel ideas, driven by the need to inexpensively mass produce for a society constructing approximately 175,000 dwellings a year, marketing in large measure to a benignly mediocre culture that accepts quantity as a substitute for quality and equates price with value?

Is it any wonder that antique hardware is valued as an investment?

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