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Vintage and Antique Safes
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The predecessors of modern safes were antique wooden strongboxes bound with iron hoops, similar in construction to barrels. Until the 19th century, these so-called “iron chests” were designed to prevent theft, but offered little to no protection...
The predecessors of modern safes were antique wooden strongboxes bound with iron hoops, similar in construction to barrels. Until the 19th century, these so-called “iron chests” were designed to prevent theft, but offered little to no protection from fire.
The first-known American safes were produced in the early 19th century, and were typically wooden boxes covered with iron sheeting that was banded and secured with cast-iron nails. These safes’ visibly oversized nail heads earned them nicknames like “knob chests” or “hobnail safes.” Some manufacturers first soaked their wood with salt water, providing minimal fire protection as long as the wood remained semi-damp.
During the 1820s, Jesse Delano of New York City pioneered a mixture of clay, lime, plumbago, mica, potash lye, and alum that could be used to fireproof the wooden lining of safes. In 1833, C.J. Gayler patented his double fireproof chest, which consisted of two nested boxes with space for air or other incombustible materials between the two.
Chests of the day typically weighed anywhere from 300 to 5000 pounds, though one custom-made Gayler model for the Chambers Street Savings Bank weighed around 11,000 pounds. After one of Gayler’s chests survived a major building fire, they were dubbed “salamanders,” due to the creature’s mythological connection with fire.
In England around this time, Thomas Milner developed a fireproof safe using a casing made from tin-plate and sheet iron (lining both the interior and exterior), which surrounded a non-conducting composite of hardwood, sawdust, and alum. This mixture somewhat insulated the safe’s contents when exposed to the high heat of a fire. Milner patented the design and launched his company, Thomas Milner and Son, in Liverpool in 1830.
However, the Great Fire of New York in 1835 proved that most “fireproof” safe designs were worthless, as very few survived the conflagration. During the 1830s, Daniel Fitzgerald had begun experimenting with insulation made from plaster of Paris, since it retained water. Fitzgerald’s innovation was appropriated by Thayer & Edwards of Boston, Massachusetts, who patented their popular “Salamander Safe” lined with a three-inch layer of liquid plaster of Paris in 1843.
After it was sold to Enos Wilder, this patent became famously known as the Wilder patent. Several lawsuits ensued when competitors attempted to manufacture similar safes, and by the 1840s, many companies were relying on the Wilder patent to make Salamander-style safes. With their metal exteriors and plaster of Paris insulation, the Salamanders became a common sight in office buildings of the mid-19th century. Typically, wooden partitions divided the interior into sections for cash, ledgers, paper documents, and other valuables.
Linus Yale, Jr., created the modern combination lock in 1861, which quickly replaced keyed locks on most safes, since they were much easier to crack. Several lock improvements were made around the same time, such as Walter Henry Tucker’s patent for lock bolts connected to the door (eventually known as a “lock case”), Samuel Whitfield’s design for a geared mechanism that screwed the door directly into a safe’s body, and Thomas Milner’s development of anti-wedging blocks to prevent the door from being pried open. Other innovations made in the 1850s and '60s included fireproofing made from a mixture of clay, alum, and an alkali, as well as burglar-proof designs with tough steel interiors.
Late 19th-century safes were produced by companies like M. Briggs & Son in Rochester, New York; the American Steam Safe Co. of New York, New York; Hall Safe & Lock Co., Cincinnati, Ohio; and the Diebold Safe and Lock Company of Canton, Ohio. Across the pond, cast-iron chests with single or double doors were made by the Carron Company in Scotland and Coalbrookdale in England. Typically, the exterior of antique cast-iron safes were made in a single piece about half an inch thick.
In contrast to more industrial safes, many Victorian “parlor safes” were sold with ornate painted exteriors that helped them blend into the interiors of upscale homes or businesses, while banks or financial institutions often purchased massive cylindrical or spherical “cannonball safes.” By the early 20th century, manufacturers like Globe-Wernicke and the Macy Company were building safes with modular divided interiors known as “cabinet safes.”
During the 1920s, the introduction of arc welding allowed safe-makers to move beyond riveting. Soon after, many companies began utilizing concrete to give their safes additional protection.
Continue readingThe predecessors of modern safes were antique wooden strongboxes bound with iron hoops, similar in construction to barrels. Until the 19th century, these so-called “iron chests” were designed to prevent theft, but offered little to no protection from fire.
The first-known American safes were produced in the early 19th century, and were typically wooden boxes covered with iron sheeting that was banded and secured with cast-iron nails. These safes’ visibly oversized nail heads earned them nicknames like “knob chests” or “hobnail safes.” Some manufacturers first soaked their wood with salt water, providing minimal fire protection as long as the wood remained semi-damp.
During the 1820s, Jesse Delano of New York City pioneered a mixture of clay, lime, plumbago, mica, potash lye, and alum that could be used to fireproof the wooden lining of safes. In 1833, C.J. Gayler patented his double fireproof chest, which consisted of two nested boxes with space for air or other incombustible materials between the two.
Chests of the day typically weighed anywhere from 300 to 5000 pounds, though one custom-made Gayler model for the Chambers Street Savings Bank weighed around 11,000 pounds. After one of Gayler’s chests survived a major building fire, they were dubbed “salamanders,” due to the creature’s mythological connection with fire.
In England around this time, Thomas Milner developed a fireproof safe using a casing made from tin-plate and sheet iron (lining both the interior and exterior), which surrounded a non-conducting composite of hardwood, sawdust, and alum. This mixture somewhat insulated the safe’s contents when exposed to the high heat of a fire. Milner patented the design and launched his company, Thomas Milner and Son, in Liverpool in 1830.
However, the Great Fire of New York in 1835 proved that most “fireproof” safe designs were worthless, as very few survived the conflagration. During the 1830s, Daniel Fitzgerald had begun experimenting with...
The predecessors of modern safes were antique wooden strongboxes bound with iron hoops, similar in construction to barrels. Until the 19th century, these so-called “iron chests” were designed to prevent theft, but offered little to no protection from fire.
The first-known American safes were produced in the early 19th century, and were typically wooden boxes covered with iron sheeting that was banded and secured with cast-iron nails. These safes’ visibly oversized nail heads earned them nicknames like “knob chests” or “hobnail safes.” Some manufacturers first soaked their wood with salt water, providing minimal fire protection as long as the wood remained semi-damp.
During the 1820s, Jesse Delano of New York City pioneered a mixture of clay, lime, plumbago, mica, potash lye, and alum that could be used to fireproof the wooden lining of safes. In 1833, C.J. Gayler patented his double fireproof chest, which consisted of two nested boxes with space for air or other incombustible materials between the two.
Chests of the day typically weighed anywhere from 300 to 5000 pounds, though one custom-made Gayler model for the Chambers Street Savings Bank weighed around 11,000 pounds. After one of Gayler’s chests survived a major building fire, they were dubbed “salamanders,” due to the creature’s mythological connection with fire.
In England around this time, Thomas Milner developed a fireproof safe using a casing made from tin-plate and sheet iron (lining both the interior and exterior), which surrounded a non-conducting composite of hardwood, sawdust, and alum. This mixture somewhat insulated the safe’s contents when exposed to the high heat of a fire. Milner patented the design and launched his company, Thomas Milner and Son, in Liverpool in 1830.
However, the Great Fire of New York in 1835 proved that most “fireproof” safe designs were worthless, as very few survived the conflagration. During the 1830s, Daniel Fitzgerald had begun experimenting with insulation made from plaster of Paris, since it retained water. Fitzgerald’s innovation was appropriated by Thayer & Edwards of Boston, Massachusetts, who patented their popular “Salamander Safe” lined with a three-inch layer of liquid plaster of Paris in 1843.
After it was sold to Enos Wilder, this patent became famously known as the Wilder patent. Several lawsuits ensued when competitors attempted to manufacture similar safes, and by the 1840s, many companies were relying on the Wilder patent to make Salamander-style safes. With their metal exteriors and plaster of Paris insulation, the Salamanders became a common sight in office buildings of the mid-19th century. Typically, wooden partitions divided the interior into sections for cash, ledgers, paper documents, and other valuables.
Linus Yale, Jr., created the modern combination lock in 1861, which quickly replaced keyed locks on most safes, since they were much easier to crack. Several lock improvements were made around the same time, such as Walter Henry Tucker’s patent for lock bolts connected to the door (eventually known as a “lock case”), Samuel Whitfield’s design for a geared mechanism that screwed the door directly into a safe’s body, and Thomas Milner’s development of anti-wedging blocks to prevent the door from being pried open. Other innovations made in the 1850s and '60s included fireproofing made from a mixture of clay, alum, and an alkali, as well as burglar-proof designs with tough steel interiors.
Late 19th-century safes were produced by companies like M. Briggs & Son in Rochester, New York; the American Steam Safe Co. of New York, New York; Hall Safe & Lock Co., Cincinnati, Ohio; and the Diebold Safe and Lock Company of Canton, Ohio. Across the pond, cast-iron chests with single or double doors were made by the Carron Company in Scotland and Coalbrookdale in England. Typically, the exterior of antique cast-iron safes were made in a single piece about half an inch thick.
In contrast to more industrial safes, many Victorian “parlor safes” were sold with ornate painted exteriors that helped them blend into the interiors of upscale homes or businesses, while banks or financial institutions often purchased massive cylindrical or spherical “cannonball safes.” By the early 20th century, manufacturers like Globe-Wernicke and the Macy Company were building safes with modular divided interiors known as “cabinet safes.”
During the 1920s, the introduction of arc welding allowed safe-makers to move beyond riveting. Soon after, many companies began utilizing concrete to give their safes additional protection.
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