Number 44

witt llInnrknnb <lTnlltrtnrNovember-December 1990

Display in L.A.The Los Angeles (California) County

Museum of Art is displaying outstandingexamples of American Arts and craftsf r om t he collection of Max Palevsky andJodie Evans . The exhibition , AmericanArts & Crafts: Virtue in Design will beon display t hrough J anuar y 6 , 1991 .

Featur i ng late 19th and early20th-century furniture , metalwork ,ceramics and glass , American Art s &Crafts i nc l udes t he fi nes t works of t hepe riod 's most acclaimed c raftsmen suchas Greene & Gr eens , Charles Rohlfs ,Roycroft , Gus tav Stickney , Frank Ll oydWright , Louis Henri Sullivan andothers . The exhibition also includesselections of European examples toenhance the under standi ng of t heAmerican works on view.

A fUll-illustrated catalogue , ,« i t t enby Leslie GreeneBowman , theMuseum 's curator ofDecorative Arts ,will accompany theexhibi tion .American Arts &Crafts ; Virt ue i nDesign was or ­ganized by t he LosAngeles CountyMuseum of Art . Formore i nformation

~ contact Publ icInformationLos Angeles CountyMuseum of Art, 5905Wilshire Blvd . , LosAngeles , CA 90036phone 213- 857-6522 ••

Wall sconc e in brass and leaded glaS5by Louis H , Su llivan. (L, A , C ounty

Museum of Art )

THE OPEN DOOR- -by ray nernec

WHAT A WONDERFUL SURPRISE --------------Our l as t issue car ried acenterfold with pi ctures ofalmost everyone whoattended the 1990 con­vention. Now that you havebeen guessing who's who fortwo months , this issue willinclude a page which willidentify all the mysteriousfaces .

How does our membershipcost compare to otherc l ubs? Well , I belong tofive other organizationsand have just recently paidmy 1991 membership dues .Here is how they compare :

SABR (baseball) $30CERA (railroad) 25BCCA (beer cans) 24NRC (radio ) 22ADCA 20SCARS (radio) 10It l ooks l ike ADCA

members are ge tting abargain . We encourage thosewho have not pa id t heir1991 dues to do so as earlyas possible . By showingyour support now , you wi llhe lp us make 1991 al l itshould be for ADCA.

Video tapes of the 1990convent i on and Thral l 's"The Building" areavailable for loan from theclub. If you would beinterested i n seeing t hesetapes drop a note to ArnieFredrick for more detai ls . -

by L. carl isle Bolen

What a wonderful surpriseFrances and I had aftertraveling about 1,091miles . We stopped at theDanbury , cr , welcomestati on r es t s top . To oursurprise , as we wereleaving the station, wel ooked up and there werethree people walking downthe walkway Bill andHelen Byington and ArnieFredrick. The Byingtons andArnie had driven up i nseparate cars. I don 't knowwho was most surprised (s eephoto ) .

Frances and I had a lsostopped at Char l ieWardell 's house i n Tr inity ,N. C. If you have neverv is i ted hi s home and seenh is doorknob co l lecti onalong with his othercollections , you must makethis a stop s ome day .

We a l l had a real treatat seeing Ed Thrall 's "TheBuilding . " I don 't bel ieveI know of another personthat could have built thisbuilding . The structure i sso wel l constructed i t i san asset to the community .

After traveling on intothe other New England

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states we stopped at Keene ,N.H. , where we spent thenight. Also there werefarmers from all over theUni t ed States there . We gotto show them our doorknobs .They didn 't know suchbeautiful doorknobsexisted .

Don 't f orget to or der _your SWEAT SHIRT to wear to ~next year ' s convent i on andyou , t oo, may be spotteda long the highwaysomewhere.

We are l ooking f orward t obeing with a ll of you nextyear at Lake Tahoe .(Editor' s not e: See THEDOORKNOB EXCHANGE forsweatshirt order page 10. )

tC IH' Doorlmob \C ol lH t orPublished six t imes a yea r by Antiqu eDo orknob Collectors of America , Inc .P.O. Box 126 , Eola , IL 60519 -0126.Raymond a nd Loretta Nemec , Edit ors .

Phone: 1-70 8 - 357 - 2381Printed by Sun Printing , Naperville, ILAnnual Membership in USA: $20.00.Foreign rates on request.

Hardware, California styleby Maude Eas twood

importedunited

foreign

What hardware fitsthe title, "Califor­nia style"?

Certainly, it wouldinclude the Missionhardware, hand-ham­mered on the site andlater the subj ect offaithful reproduc­tion. Should it alsoinclude dealers'hardware that wasbrought in for themansions of the goldand oil rich and SanFrancisco's "PaintedLadies"? That is,before local hardwareof quality was avail­able.

Should hardwarefrom the Californiawarehouses of Eastcoast manufacturers ­that "Modern" andArt Deco type nowbeing restored bypopular demand-bein-eluded? Is Cali­fornia Style limitedto hardware born andbred in California,or does it alsoinclude hardwarepreferred a- ~ 'vail­able?

The s c ' 1.age r _' theEarle were 20thCentury come-latelieswhose hardware wasunmistakably Califor­nia style. Includethe products of theTechnical and Brockglass houses allCalifornia based.

Let the expertsdecide what Califor­nia style hardwareembraces. The threeeras of builders'hardware in Califor­nia may be broadlylabeled, dated and

highlighted for thecollector as;

1. original forged1700's Mission hard­ware.

2. 1800's(both fromStated andsources. )

3. 20th centurypatented and (or)manufactured bycompetitive Califor­nia builders' hard­ware manufacturers.

The heavy hand-ham­mered hardware of theSpanish Missions wasforged for utility,not for beauty.Little attempt wasmade to standardizesizes and shapes.Materials werescarce. Survivingpieces are scarce.Doorknobs do notexist among Missiondigs. Mission hard­ware pieces in faith­ful reproduction are

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found in Earle's A-3catalog.

Fine hardware ofthe 1800's was avail­able to Californiansin warehouses estab­lished by the majorcompanies as early as1865. Some of thesecompanies operatedtheir own steamshiplines.R & E Metallic Com­pression designs andCorbin's enameledknobs were not uncom­mon to the Californiascene, as wereWedgewood, crystaland the more commontypes.

From the turn ofthe century through

the 1920' s a handfulof fledgling Cali­fornia companiesentered the builder'shardware field. WorldWar I brought metalhardware productionto a virtual stop.Subsequently stan­dardization resulted.The time was ripe fora change and themarket was ready.

Weiser Lock Companyof South Gate wasamong the first1904. Weiser was areal going concernthat also made hard­ware for movie sets.

(Please turn to Page 4)

hardware...Following World WarII and a return topeacetime manufactur­ing. Weiser melted aroomful of suchhardware to start aresidential lockbusiness.

Earle HardwareManufacturing Companyof Los Angeles wassingularly success­ful. Earle was incor­porated in 1913 andprepared to serve theneeds of the variedstyles of Californiaarchitecture withfaithfully repro-duced, originalPeriod designs.Earle's No. A-3,circa 1925 catalogwas heavy on the sideof Mission and Colo­nial hardware - straphinges, lever han­dles, latches, knock­ers. Earle did notremain a CaliforniaCompany, but sold tothe Reading KnobWorks of Pennsylvaniain 1928.

Acme of Los Ange­les, established in1926, were manufac­turers, dealers andimporters of fine andexotic hardware fromthe four corners andso served a large andvaried clientele.They advertised "Theworlds largest selec­tion of custom hard­ware."

The Peabody Compa­ny, also of LosAngeles, offered adistinctive line ofbold designs. Theywere acquired by

Schlage Lock Companyin 1959 and operatedas a Custom HardwareDivision. The out­sized, full facedLion knob is a prod­uct of Peabody Compa­ny.

Two of the compa­nies patented bore-intype cylindricallocks in the 192 a's,one, more success­fully than the other.Walter E. Wread'spatents were filed in1925 and 1926. Theywere assigned byMesne assignments toour-of-state McKinneyManufacturing Compa­ny. McKinney improvedand marketed the linethen sold to corbin,who shelved it.

Wal ter Schlage wasthe California inven­tor who establishedthe acceptance of thecylindrical lock. Hispush-button type,that required but twobored holes and a fewscrews to be user-

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ready, gave main linelock manufacturersserious competitionand put California onthe map. Here ishardware productionand marketing as itsbest. WalterSchlage's 260 patentspaid off. His firstpatent was submittedin 1909. By 1925 hisnew plant in SanFrancisco was capableof producing 2,500locks every eighthours.

California inven­tors have long beeninterested in theoperation of locks.In early 1874 JosephO'Neil received apatent for his Im­proved PermutationLock and in February1875, Hugh Rogersassigned half of hisImproved LockingLatch to one AllenHoskins.

George Cawthroneof Redwood cityobtained a designpatent for a late ArtNouveau door handle,dated 3-25-1924. Thispatent was assignedto Axford & DeShields, San Jose,California. OtherCa lifornia patentswere obtained byEarle for their pushbutton handle and byW.A. Anderson forglass furnitureknobs, dated 8-16-1921.

The Technical GlassCompany Inc. of LosAngeles issued cata­1og No. 7, c . 19 38 .

(Please turn to Page 9)

<!&rnamental besign in antique boorknobsby Len Blurnin

(The following regular feature is a supplement to Len's excellent book,VICTORIAN DECORATIVE ART)

J-109J-110

J-ll1J-222J-223J-224

Classic, H&D 1879 catalog. Smaller version of K-103.Classic, ·.H&D 1879 catalog, knob number 390. Compare to J-101, K-107.(Note: K"":107 now known to be H&D, not R&E as shown in VDA.H&D, 1879 catalog, "Modern" design forthis period."Raised" design, Branford, 1879, number 2327.Adams & Westlake "Saloon" knob, for a rimlock.Vernacular. Photo "retouched" to emphasize design.

J-109

J-110

J-111

J-222

J-223

J-224

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K-213aK-213bK-214aK-214bK-226K-314

Note different center, and sterns for perimeter flowers.Note different center,Original K-213 by H&D, 1879 catalog.Mallory & Wheeler, Design pattern #19,553, 12/31/1889.Mallory & Wheeler, Less cornman flat version of K-214.Cast iron, somewhat crude.Wrought iron.

K-213a

K-213b

K-214a

K-214b

K-226

K-314

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,.

ecall anyone and

. '.,- .: ' yo';! immediately

\ (: t.hLnk of some: ' mannerism, phy­

sical feature, con-versation, dress orvoice that makes thatperson unique. Wewouldn't remember themotherwise. Right? Firstimpressions are lastingand we usually size upeveryone quickly,leaving room for lateradjustment.

One flea market dealerI know regularly exposeshardware that is irre­sistible to me. I thinkhe, of the dark glassesand full beard, knows myweakness and has becomemy personal picker. Iprobably pay too muchbut I try to buy all hisgood stuff so he won't

~ose interest in hard­ware. Another dealerthat I see regularlylooks like a gangsterfrom a TV movie but is avery nice fellow, veryknowledgeable and claimsto have four collegedegrees. I believe him.His love of hardware isobvious and any transac­tions always pleasant.These observationsaren't meant to becritical, I'm just beinganalytical for, afterall, I want to recognizehim the next time.

When I think of GeorgeBurns I smell a cigarand I see gaudy jewelrywhen recalling Liberace.A shaved head and alollipop is TellySavalas' trademark and~e wouldn't leave home~ithout it. The

Noble serviceby Charlie Wardell

lollipop, I mean.President Bush's specta-cles and HenryKissinger's voicedistinguish them fromeveryone else. I wonderif Henry can sing?Checking Gorbachev'sbirthmark is everyone'sresponsibility and Iwonder if Johnny Cashowns a sport coat.

Do you remember EdwardR. Murrow? If the smokecleared I believe thefresh air would havechoked hi m. GeneralMcArthur's hat is afable itself and a LifeMagazine cover picturingit, hanging on a rack,told his story asplainly as the crosstells that of the Son ofMan. The inquiring eyesand smile tells me ArnieFredrick likes me andMaudie's stern face andsincerity in appraisinghardware assures me thatmy hobby is not in vain.Marge Weimer's "I don'tbelieve a word of it"posture convinces methat she'd be hard tofool. Then CharlieWardell's close inspec­tion (and envious look)poses the question,"does he want any more?"

Little things distin­guish us as well asdoorknobs and are keys

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to close relationships.Recall your favoriteknob. Is it the mostbeautiful one? Probablynot but it has "charac­ter" that you like andfeel an affinity for.Vernacular style is myfavorite because thereis a reflection of theindependent Americanspirit, elements of it'sdesign are timeless andno pretense or conceitis there.

My discovery ofdoorknobs was an acci­dent and I could write abook about the occasionand how doorknobs openeddoors to the world forme. I was born a collec­tor, I'm certain, for asa child I saved tinfoil,popsicle sticks, nailsand wooden boxes to usein making toys and otherpretty things. I enj oybeing called a collector(packrat?) and I wish Ihad discovered doorknobsfifty years earlier.Then I could boast ofthe greatest collectionin America! Are we readyfor another book on

(Please turn to Page 8)

Handle on decorA collection of cabinet and door hardware cast from red brass,aluminum alloys, or iron is inspired by the art of the an~entpueblo dwellers, and is a good basic for Southwest decor. Pncesrange from $150 to $175 for the largest latches (door pulls) to$16 to $20 for smaller shanks (handles and knobs). For moreinformation, contact Craftsmen in Wood Mfg. at 4040 W.Whitton Ave., Phoenix, Ariz. 85019 (602-278-8054)

ADCANational convention sites

1981 Waverly, Iowa

1982 San Francisco, Ca

1983 Naperville, IL

1984 Waverly, Iowa

1985 St. Charles, MO

1986 Minneapolis, MN

1987 Des Moines, IA

1988 Indianapolis, IN

1989 Iowa City, IA

1990 East Windsor, CT

1991 South Lake Tahoe, CA

1992 ?

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/

Dates setIn its 10th anniversaryseason, the AntiqueDoorknob Collectors ofAmerica's annual conventionwill be held in South LakeTahoe, California. Theconvention will take placeAugust 11-14, 1991, at theTahoe Sands Inn, 3600Highway 50, South LakeTahoe, California.

While specific plans forthe convention are still inthe formative stages, theproposed activities includeCalifornia style hardwareas the theme. Details willbe forthcoming fromconvention organizers Margeand Joe Bornino as theydevelop. Watch THE DOORKNOBCOLLECTOR for updates. Inthe meantime, mark August11-14 on your calendar now.•~-------------- ~

Service •••(Continued from Page 7)hardware collecting?

I think the collectorserves a noble serviceto a society thatdiscards everything whenthe shine is gone. Atone time baseball cards,cornie books, Elvisrecords, silver dollarsand Mallory Wheelerdoorknobs were cheap andavailable, often forpennies, to anyonecaring enough to savethem. Wouldn't we alllike to recall ten daysof 1950 or 1910 andstockpile the commonthings? We would bemillionaires.

The works ofBeethoven, Handel andsteven Foster can beenjoyed because acollector saved theirmanuscripts. The lettersof Washington andLincoln inspire us todayand who but a collectorcared enough topreserve, at risk ofdeath, the writings ofMoses, David or SaintPaul or evenShakespeare? withoutthem we would be poor,indeed. Yes, a Divineprovidence was at workbut a collector was onthe scene too.

There is pleasure aswell as responsibilityin preserving bits ofAmericana and an indus­try which is nearlyignored by historiansneeds champions (likethe ADCA) to documentit's important contribu­tion to our way ofliving. I look forwardto many years of being ahopelessly happy,harmless, harmlesshardware hustler .•

You can safely clean layertl ofpaint 0" brass door hardware,switch and outlet plates by <#boiling them In water for ..-.about 10 minutes.Simply remove,cool and rub0" the paintwith a plas·tic mesh potscrubber.Then polishand add a fewdrops of011 to op­erable hardware,such as lockingdoorknobs anddoor hinges.

Boiled Brass

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HARDWARE(Continued from Page 4)

Technical manufac­tured Builders' GlassHardware and Spe­cialties, merchandis­ing in both theunited States andfive foreign coun­tries. Technical'sline included pressedand cut glass inlarge variety ofcolors.

Under the watchfuleye of WalterSchlage, the BrockCompany of Irvine,California suppliedglass knobs forSchlage for a numberof years.

In closing, itshould be noted thatno attempt has beenmade to limit Cali­fornia builders'hardware manu£actur­ers to those compa­nies listed, nor,because of limitedspace, to haveslighted those named.

Further, questionshave arisen regardingthe re-Jccurrence ofcertain Earle catalogdesigns in othercompany catalog's.(See club newsletterfor March/April,1980) The companiesof Earle, Peabody,Weiser and SECO areinvolved. A clear cutpicture has yet toemerge that wouldexplain what factors,other than mergers,that would allow thisduplication.

The answers may bewaiting for us at the1991 Californiaconvent ion .•

iJl1O/G5S

lJAHlIA

SO/LAG[.

_ Call for bidsBids f or the 1992 , 1993

and 1994 ADCA conven t ionar e still bei ng accept ed.Cont act Pr esident LenBlurnin or the ADCA offf ce(at Eola, Ill inois) as soonas possible .

FR~ THE ARCHIVES THE DOORKNOB EXCHANGE

Co.(#8) ,Dr. ,

60563.

by Steve & Barb Menchhofer

It's That Time of Year!

Once again it's that timeof year--time to place yourorder for catalogs. Time tobe considering whichcatalogs will be helpful toyou in identifying your newfound doorknob treasure orthat interesting escutcheonplate you happened to findat a flea market.

Order forms are enclosedwith this issue of TheDoorknob Collector. January1, 1991 is the deadlinedate for orders. Your checkor money order mustaccompany your order. Donot add postage as it hasalready been included inthe cost.

Catalogs are offered onlytwice a year to save wearand tear on the mastercopies. If you are thinkingabout next yearsconvention, you may want toplace your order now as youcan ' acquaint yourself withthe convention themehardware.

We offered eight newcatalogs at the 1990convention. Two more havebeen added to the orderfrom at this time bringingthe total of new catalogsfor 1990 to ten. Thenewest offerings are Yale &Towne, Catalog #16, July,1897 and P & F CorbinBronze Hardware List.,1874-5 .•

Members are reminded thatyour dues entitle you toadvertise items for sale,trade or wanted at nocharge.

FOR SALE OR TRADE. Limitednumber of knobs and platesfrom the "Ellicott SquareBuilding. " Buffalo, NY •Designed by Daniel HudsonBurnham. Built in 1896 andwas the largest officebuilding in the world uponits completion. Listed onthe National Register ofHistoric Building. DaleSponaugle (#85), 247 SummitAve., Buffalo, NY14214-1933.Ph:716-834-3970.

FOR SALE. Russwin brassknobs and completelocksets. Patent date 1902.Madison style. $23 per set(includes shipping.) RicSmith (#208), 62 SorrentoBlvd., Hanahan, SC 29406.Ph: 803-553-6508 evenings &weekends.

BUYING, SELLING, TRADING.Doorknobs and relatedhardware. The AntiqueDoorknob Museum & Shop."InHistorical St. PetersVillage." Call Wed-Sun12-5, 215-469-0970 or writeto P.O. Box 7, St. Peters,PA 19470. Bill Causey(#155) .

WANTED. I am a collector ofMasonic brass doorknockers, trivets,bookends, and am nowsearching for a set ofdoorknobs with the squareand compass logo. Manyearly Masonic Lodges usedthese fraternal doorknobs,generally inside doors ofthe temple which was not

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visible by anyone from th~outside. Norman G. Gordon(#243) , 34 Woodward Ave.Thornhill, ONT, CanadaL3TIE5. PH:416-889-3344.

FOR SALE. My collection ofapproximate 1,000doorknobs, plUS plates andrelated hardware. FlorenceChelin (#22), R5-2026 S.Main, Princeton, IL 61356.PH:815-875-1896.

FOR SALE. Antique DoorknobCollectors of AmericaSweatshirt, All sized, allcolors. Doggie doorknoblikeness on sweatshirt.Price $16.50 each. A.D.C.A.Dept S, c/o L.C.Bolen(#113) 17 Tree View Drive,Apt. B, Lithonia, GA 30038.PH:404-981-1752.

FOR SALE. AOCA clutAdoorknobs. Wood body, bras~stems, design in club logo.Laser engraved, in walnut.$27 includes shipping. ADCADept D, c/o Bill Byington,415 Magowan Ave. , IowaCity, IA 52246,PH:319-338-0982.

WANTED. 1. C• RRdoorknob. Ray Nemec1424 HeathertonNaperville, ILPH:708-357-2381. _