Keys and Locks in the Collection of the Cooper-Hewitt Museum 0910503524, 9780910503525

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42

The majority of the CooperHewitt's keys from the seventeenth

century are assumed to be personal keys, although a

had

official uses.

for example, a cross

likely

is

within

used in

number clearly One German key,

ornamented with bow and was most

its

a

church or chapel.

on such keys may be highly complex or quite simple. Some of the simpler cuts take on the form of stars, and some keys use a repeated star pattern. Another variation in the form of the bit is the "screw" bit, which resembles a corkscrew.

Bits

This type of key, generally reserved for use with padlocks,

vogue for

remained in

several centuries.

Some keys from

the seventeenth

century display innovative designs,

double key with

such as

a

hollow

bow

that can be

a sliding

moved

from one end of the key

to another

to create a handle for opening the lock. is

The

delicacy of key-making

revealed in the finely cut bits

characteristic

of the period. in the bit

do not interrupt the edge

of the key

24

of French workmanship On some keys the cuts

itself.

The

finely cut

patterns inside the bit proper indicate

elaborately decorated eighteenth-

patterns for wards

the complexity of the locks for

century keys used for a

from La Fidele Ouverture de Van dc Semirier

which

42 Mathurinjousse

these keys

were designed.

functions ranging

dwellings to locking valuables in

(Paris: 1627)

engraving and etching

The

1921.6.324(31)

dramatic increase in the

German 17th- 18th century iron, 18.5

cm

1904. 14.2

number of

more people used them on

A

wide variety

of containers and boxes were also a

fitted

with small locks to protect

daily basis than in earlier periods.

valuable comestibles such as tea

The

and sugar.

stylistic

development of keys

and locks was also stimulated and reached the zenith of aesthetic and ornamental sophistication. The

Museum's 44 French 17th century steel, 14

furniture and chests.

eighteenth century witnessed a

keys; far 43

number of

from securing

cm

1909.2.238

25

collection includes

58

45

German

German locksmiths made some

18th century

highly elaborate keys and locks in

cm

iron, 14.3

the eighteenth century,

1952. 161. 81

many of

them having bows with scrollwork and foliage decoration, and star-cut Ordinary English keys tended to be plain and serviceable, entirely

46 German 18th century steel,

bits.

cm

8.4

functional ancestors of the so-called

1952. 161.35

"skeleton" key with which familiar.

47 English 18th century steel, 12.7

They stand

we are

all

in contrast to a

smaller group of highly ornamental

English keys

cm

that, like their

counterparts, incorporated

1952. 161. 18

French

complex

scrollwork designs into their bows.

Although the major focus of decoration remained the bow, some

48 English 18th century steel, 7

fine English

cm

show

1952. 161.20

the shaft and 49 English 18th century steel,

8

keys of this period also

elaborate ornamentation of bit.

Increasingly, coats of arms initials

cm

and were incorporated into the

design of bows during the

1952. 161.

eighteenth century to indicate the identity 50 English 19th century brass, 15.3

of the owner. Also during

this period, the

number of symbolic

or ceremonial keys increased,

cm

resulting in the production

of a wide

1923. 13.

range of impressive "chamberlain's" keys. 51

English

From

the sixteenth to the

eighteenth century, the keys retained

late 19th

century

brass, 13

cm

by the chamberlain

at

court or in an

had been primarily functional - it was these keys that assured the security of the family and their possessions. From the eighteenth century onward, highly ornamental keys have been carried as a perquisite and symbol of aristocratic residence

1923. 13.6

office rather than for actual use.

26

27

Such keys, beautifully crafted and were generally worn on special occasions. The Museum's collection contains several examples of such ceremonial keys, most with armorial devices, coats of arms, initials, or monograms. Some of often gilded,

the

Museum's keys bear insignia them with

or arms that associate

European

royalty. Since

many

of them show no sign of actual use 52 chamberlain's key Austrian,

Emperor

Ferdinand

or wear, their symbolic purpose is

undeniable.

I

19th century gilt

bronze, 18.2

cm

Other innovations

that arose

during the eighteenth century

1909.27.7

included cleverly designed folding or collapsing keys. Such

keys were convenient for carrying in a pocket,

and many can be

seen as predecessors of nineteenth-

century "patent" keys. 53 chamberlain's key

probably German 19th century gilt

bronze, 16.2

cm

In spite of the refinements that

occurred in lock and key design

from the sixteenth century onward, most locks were highly susceptible

1909.27.6

to easy picking until the eighteenth 54 chamberlain's key

of the Archbishop of Cologne

century.

During the course of that

Initials

late 19th gilt

provide heightened security with

century

bronze, 14.5

century, lockmakers attempted to

cm

1909.27.8

devices that

55 chamberlain's key

bronze, 10.7

certain to foil

were considered essential for houses, and the growing use of lockable

probably German i8th-i9th century gilt

would be

burglars and other crooks. Locks

cm

1967.48.41

28

furniture, the institution

and

a rise in the

of banks,

crime rate

all

contributed to the rapid growth of

mass-produced keys. The increasing importance of functional locks and

occurred, families abandoned rural life

for the cities,

and

as

urban

mushroomed, so too did poverty and crime. A certain amount centers

keys mirrored changes in population

of protection for person and property could be provided by locks

movements. As

and keys -

industrialization

a

development

that,

combined with an increasing reliance on public police protection and banks, serves as a commentary on the nature of progress during

the eighteenth century.

29

56 folding key

European 18th century iron, 20.8

cm

These developments not only stimulated the craft of lockmaking; they also engendered a climate of competition among inventors and designers to produce less easily

An

picked locks. cycle

was

all

too familiar

From

that date, the history of lock and key manufacturing changed

more and more

radically as

competitors entered the inventions to

foil thieves

field

with

and

lockpickers.

whereby every lock was made, thieves

established

time a better

In England,

where many of the

rose to the challenge and figured out

nineteenth-century advances in lock

how to

and key design were developed, the

pick

invented

a

it.

Robert Barron

1778, considered first

by many

to be the

major technological advance

lock-making. However,

Bramah

Chubb

twin- tumbler lock in

(1749-1814)

international

it

in

was Joseph

who won

fame with

his 1784

"Bramah Cylindrical 181 1 he went on to found

brothers, Charles and

Jeremiah, achieved wealth and success

with their lock.

1818 patented

their specialized field

by

"Detector"

The fame of the Chubbs

in

was heightened

their participation in the 1851

patent for the

Crystal Palace Exhibition; at this

Lock." In

landmark international trade fair, the Chubbs were commissioned to make the locked gold case in which Queen Victoria's famous "Koh-i-

the

first

utilize

lock and key manufactory to

mechanical duplication

of standardized separate

parts.

noor" diamond was exhibited. Embarrassingly,

it

was

at this

same

exhibition that an enterprising

American locksmith and inventor

named Alfred C. Hobbs publicly picked both a Bramah and a wellknown Chubb lock, the latter of which was

said to

Hobbs earned

be unpickable.

a large

cash prize for

his efforts.

Hobbs's success was eventually

overshadowed by the Yale family of Middletown, Connecticut. Linus Yale, Sr. (born in 1797), established

himself as

a

lockmaker around 1840.

His son Linus (1821-1868) turned the family business into one of the

most

successful nineteenth-century

firms specializing in bank locks.

30

57 Oriental 19th century iron, 17.5

cm

1952. 161. 180c

Seeking both improved security and a

reduction in the size of locks and

iron, 17.5

cm

1952. 161. 173c

now

keys, the Yales revolutionized the

key to

history of mass-produced keys

a

and 58 Oriental 19th century

are

locks.

often provided with an

electronically-coded card or plastic

rooms, rather than with

their

cumbersome tagged key intended to remind them to return it when

they leave; the locking code

These innovations in design, the industrialization of the craft, and the large demand for locks and keys

programmed

into such computerized

keys requires only

reprogramming

a

necessarily led to a decline in their

new security code essentially, a new key. Security

individual design characteristics.

systems have also been developed

Today

difficult to distinguish

that

in different countries or

voice pattern recognition,

keys

by

it is

made

different firms

on

the basis of

to provide a

need no passkey whatever -

fingerprint security systems, and

design. Stylistic issues continued to

push-button codes are

play a part even in industrially

among

manufactured keys in the 1920s and 30s, however. Some keys, for

traditional locks

example, were designed with bows

more immediate

that

and,

now

counted

the descendants of the

the Egyptians,

and keys used by Romans, and our ancestors.

echo the stepped profile of

skyscrapers. Nonetheless, fewer

Although

craftsman-designed and -fabricated

may change

keys have been made in the

will

From the unique and carefully handcrafted creations that had been produced for over two

of our daily

thousand years, keys and locks have

of their craftsmanship and design, in

twentieth century.

become

internationally standardized

and plainly designed

tools.

their

form and appearance

radically, locks

and keys

remain an indispensable part lives as

long

as

human

beings require security for themselves

and

their possessions.

The

history

partnership with technology and innovation,

is

clearly recorded for

posterity in the key and lock

Despite the decline of stylistic

collections

innovation, the history of locks and

Museum.

of the Cooper- Hewitt

keys in the past few decades has been

even more dramatically altered by the introduction of new technologies

and materials.

Many

security devices

and monitored and do not require a metal key at all. Hotel guests are electronically controlled

3i

Dr. Bert Spilker

Bibliography

Almgren,

Bertil

Och Djuronnamentik Uppsala: Appelbergs Boktryrckeri AB, 1955

Bronsnycklar

Canz, Sigrid Schliissel, Schlosser und Beschlage Wuppertal: Dr. Wolfgang Schwarze Verlag, 1977

Curtil-Boyer, Charles L'Histoire de la clefde I'epoque romaine au

XVIII siecle

Paris: Editions Vilo, 1969

DAllemagne, Henri Rene Decorative Antique Ironwork Paris: 1924. Reprint.

Eras,

J.

New York:

Dover, 1968

M. Vincent

Locks and Keys Throughout the Ages

Dordrecht, Holland: Lips Lock Factory, 1957 Frank, Edgar

Old French Ironwork: The Craftsman and His Art Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1950 Hopkins, Albert A. The Lure of the Lock

New York: Lecoq,

General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen, 1928

Raymond

Serrurerie ancienne

Paris

:

-

techniques et oeuvres

Librairie Gedalge, 1973

Pankofer, Heinrich

und Schloss

Schliissel

Munich Georg Callwey, :

1979

Prochnow, Dieter Schonheit von Schloss Schliissel Beschlag

Ratingen, West Germany: A.

Henn

Zara, Louis

Locks and Keys

New York: 32

Walker and Co., 1969

Verlag, 1966

A* i

3L-

Cooper- Hewitt Museum 2 East 91 Street

New York NY 10128

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