Rare Victorian Forum

Hi Zeke and all!

Will now send some door plate pics---all bronze, circa
1875-1885 with aesthetic design.

Last post----!

Knobs and pocket door hardware.

Note### the sunflower knob on the pic labeled
herter came with a lock and is marked Herter Brothers, New York.

Hope you have enjoyed.

stever

Hello Woodwright,

Yes, I labeled the pieces by manufacturer. There
are actually many sources to draw from in helping
identify these pieces. First of all, there is national
doorknob collector's club. known as ADCA, this club
has approx 250 members, has a quarterly newsletter and
has annual conventions. This year's convention is in Hartford,
Connecticut in July (same week as Brimfield). If you
are close,  it would make for an interesting trip even
if you do not plan on making any purchases (yes, there
will be lots of hardware there for sale). The club has
an archive of original hardware catalogues which are
accessible to members for copying at practically cost.
It takes $25. yearly to join---and as one can only imagine---
there are many whom have joined simply for the information
gleaned from this library.

Fortunately, there are also several good books on this
subject by Maud Eastwood and Leonard Blumin (known
as the pioneers of this field). Another
book which was produced in the last several years
by Weber Wilson, has many good pictures, however
it also contains numerous errors which hurts the
novice collector in this field.

A great source of info is the U.S. Patent office(on-line).
About 6 years ago I had to have open heart surgery.
I was off from work for 6 weeks and one can only
watch movies and clean out the garage so many times before
you go crazy. I discovered the website at about week three and
went through hours of searching/copying the numerous
patents on hardware from the earliest to approx 1900.
I found it interesting that many designs were never patented
and as such many close copies were made by competing
companies.

Yes, many hardware pieces are marked---such as the
hardware lock I have marked Herter Brothers, New York
(actually probably made by Hopkins & Dickinson, N.Y.).
Unfortunately, most companies did not mark their wares
and I can only surmise it was due to pure economics
as this was usually hand applied. Notable exceptions were
the Metallic Compression Casting company of Boston,
early Russell & Erwin, Yale & Towne and Mallory
Wheeler & Co. As the industry
moved to the 1900's many more companies began
to mark items with their logos including Sargent,
Corbin, Chicago hardware, Reading Hardware and others.

Finally, experience also plays a factor. I have been collecting
hardware and Victoriana for 30 years or so. I am guessing
you have enjoyed working with wood for at least this long too.
I can tell when a piece has been made by a particular
manufacturer because i know the patterns, the different metallic
compositions, the items which are more susceptible to green verdigris,
the sizes of the knob shanks(yes they differ) just as you
know walnut from mahogany or oak from ash. Certainly I can
be wrong--- but many times I am not. I will never boast
though that i know it all as I am still learning in this field
and find items in my search that i cannot identify!

I hope I have answered your questions adequately. This
is a fascinating field and who knows--- perhaps hardware
is in your future!

One last picture--- a favorite of mine...although not
aesthetic. Manufactured by the Corbin hardware company
1873-4, this knob and plate has hand applied enamel and was fired
much like cloisonne work. Available in many colors,
it was absolutely superior in design, execution
and simply stunning! Unfortunately, it was so expensive in
it's day and coupled with a national recession in 1874,
the company quit producing the line by the end of this year.

stever

Stever!

I’m in awe, your collection is incredible. In my travels I see a lot of brass hardware but nothing like this, you have the best of the best. I can certainly understand your passion for these things, they’re all so beautiful. I’m honestly lost for words. Thank you so much for taking the time and effort to post all these and for your lengthy and informative comments. I put all the pics in a folder for my personal reference.

Really gorgeous hardware. As a cabinet hardware fan, i have been researching early American hardware lately and have found it tough going. What interests me is the locks, made of iron in the 17th & 18th century, any ideas where i could find info on this?

One interesting article i did find on iron nails by Greg LeFever notes that in early america, nails were so valuable that home owners moving to another location, burned their buildings down to recover the nails. Indeed, in 1645 the Virginia House of Burgesses passed a law offering to give the home owner as many nails as he used in construction of the buildings in an effort to stop this practice.

Act VII
http://www.vagenweb.org/hening/vol01-12.htm#page_291

Article by Lefever on iron nails
http://www.gregorylefever.com/pdfs/Early%20Nails%202.pdf

Stever,

More hardware please!

Do you know how to tell the difference between a vintage sargent Ekado pattern doorknob and a repro one. I am of the understanding these are being currently manufactured. I would very much appreciate any hints!

Zeke

Hey Stever,

Thanks so much for your very concise answer and your display of the hardware looks great. You don't live in New Jersey do you? I would love to see your collection!

My knob set is a single casting but great quality. I guess it's a repro, but I got it cheap at a outdoor flea market and it looks great on the door we put it on. The quality of the reeding on the edge is very convincing and it sure fooled me.

I picked up the book "Antique Hardware price guide" by Wilson and I'm becoming absolutely fascinated by all this wonderful stuff. Many thanks for all you've contributed to these boards, it is very much appreciated.

Zeke