George Price's Ne Plus Ultra Safe Lock

Timbo · 2012-06-05T16:08:16+00:00

I have just managed to get a lovely George Price’s Ne Plus Ultra safe lock with original key from a safe that I have just opened. On opening the cover. the top lever is stamped 18772. The number 2 seems to be out of line with the rest. Would this be the month number and the 1877 being the year. Any info would be great. Tim

Timbo

Hi Safeman, it’s great to get more info on George Price’s safe’s. When I posted the original post, I didn’t think there would be so much interest.
It’s nice to know that others have the same interests as myself.
By the way, I do have a Price’s brass oval plate with Bankers Engineers on it. I don’t know what this came off other than possibly a large vault door. Anyone with info on this would be much appriciated.
Tim

4xlock

Hi, very interesting posts. I haven’t been on the site for a while and what luck to see stuff on Price’s lock. I’ve a great interest in the Ne Plus Ultra lock. Apparently it is one of the few key locks never to have been picked (or acknowledged to have been) & a I believe a version was used by the government on containers made by Bates. (I have a Bates lock, like Price’s but bigger). Any other info on this would be interesting as I am only going on conversations and what I see & read. I don’t have a good example myself as I have no original key and only a lock with the gatings widened by that old fashioned maintenance type of locksmith. I wanted to make an original style key for mine. Does your lock have any sign of work on it? Out of interest what thickness are the levers in yours, as mine are about 1mm thick? Sorry so many questions but needs must.

Martin.

Timbo

Hi Martin, I will try to get the info on the levers and post you a pic of the original keyas well. It may be a day or two but will get back to you soon.
Tim

Tom Gordon

There were a fair few of Price’s Twentieth Century Safes made -I have the lock and boltwork off one -they were made from quite small to quite large sized safes within my experience, but I consider them all very easy to attack.

Timbo

Hi Martin, I have looked at the levers in my lock and found that the top lever is approx 1.5mm thick and all the others are 1.mm thick. There has been no additional work done on mine and is just as it was originally fitted and never opened until I opened the case when I got it.

I have tried to upload pics of the key but they won’t load up. If you PM me with email address I will send them by mail.
Tim

Brian Morland MLA Hon

Its probably either the size or the format of the pictures. Send them to me Timbo and I will upload them for you. brian@morlands.demon.co.uk

Timbo

Hi Brian, thanks for that, will send them over to you.
Tim

Richard Phillips

After Price’s death, the company was taken over by Gibbons, about 1901 or 1902. Not sure when the New Century safes began to be badged as Gibbons, but they early began to be advertised with Gibbons’ name on the advert.

KitBear

My Safes escutcheon as requested by Timbo, I’m not sure how I missed his replies, It’ll be in the mountain of E-mails I suppose, Please accept my deepest apologies Timbo.

Don’t see many of these escutcheons around, Sorry no plaque if that’s what you meant.

Timbo

Nice Escutcheon that one, I’ve not seen that one before and thanks for posting. Not come a cross another GP safe since but live in hope.
Waiting to see one in mint condition but don’t think that will ever happen somehow….

KitBear

I don’t see that happening either Timbo, Most have been scrapped long ago sadly but I will be restoring mine hopefully in the summertime, I’m just annoyed that the safe only came with one drawer when I got it otherwise it would have made a fine piece fully complete.

In all my searches I have never found this type of escutcheon which leads me to believe that it’s an early one, It might be it might not be but it’s food for thought, either way it’s a nice addition to the forum, the only reason why I decided to add it was because I was searching for new info regarding GP and I came across your earlier post (of which I had no idea you replied) and I was also looking on the Artifact section on escutcheons and nameplates and noticed mine was absent from the collection.

I can upload some pics of the back of the escutcheon if you like, from what I know from memory it has a cast frame and a pressed stamp front, sorry for the cleaning solution residue between the characters but the brass fittings were in a very sorry state when I got it and so I decided to polish it up for a better appearance and so it remained for about 15 years, I’ll swab it out carefully when I restore it it’s just been difficult to take on the task over the years, something always crops up .

Hope this helps

Kit

Timbo

Thanks for the info Kit, what I’ve used sometimes to clean up brass escutcheons is tomato sauce, leave it on there for a few hours and just wash it off. Might have to do it a couple of times or if bad, overnight coverage will do it and then polish up.
Best of luck with the restoration job, it will give you great satisfaction when done and it will be smart I’m sure.

Tim

safeman

For Timbo and others interested in the history of the Geo. Price Company, I am attaching a copy of an extract taken from Somerset House by John Tann Safe Company detailing the acquisition by Geo. Price’s Safe & Lock Engineering Company of E. Blakemore Brass Foundry of Wedensbury (sic) in 1886.

Even in these early days with limited means of data transmission the safemakers kept up to date on the activities of their competitors.

Timbo

That’s a great document, wish I could find something like that Thanks for sharing with us

Huw Eastwood

Great thread guys- can’t believe I missed this!

I’ve always held GP with high regard but even more so after reading this. I used to see a lot of these and have opened, altered and re-keyed countless examples without really appreciating the significance of it’s history and the pedigree of the lock. I’ve always had a soft spot for them, but just considered them as GP’s extremely well made ‘everyday’ patent safe lock so to speak. I was always impressed by all the little details of design and construction, but again wasn’t really aware that it’s quite the thoroughbred it is. I sold off 4 or 5 of them- some with the comb spring and original key and now wished I hadn’t 🙁:

I think I’ve only got the one left which is also a later lock with the individual springing. I’ve got a good match key blank lined up ready to replace the more modern key but like all my own locks they never seem to get done!

Great thread and thanks to all for the great info and insight 🙁clap):

KitBear

Pity you sold the one with the original key, I could have used that 🙂-: .

What’s the number on that one max?

Kit

Huw Eastwood

Hey kit this one’s 18741 with the same markings above and below- yep I should’ve kept one of the others and let this one go, but always wiser with hindsight- I think the reason was possibly that the others may have been drilled- albeit with a very small hole, but still not 100% intact/original once made good- was a long time ago though but I can’t think why else I’d have made this one the keeper :=-:

safeman

Huw Eastwood

safeman wrote
With the recent interest in Price safes (George that is, not Cyrus), it occurred to me that perhaps one of the most unusual designs, the Twentieth Century Model, is not all that widely known.
It was patented, No.6367, on March 24th1899 shortly after George’s death by A.E Price and R. Gough.
The locking mechanism is housed in the bulkhead of the body, the door being plain and solid. The vertical sliding dovetailed bolt-work falls out of engagement on the unlocking of the key lock which in turn is spring loaded to lock automatically when the bolt-work engages.
Somebody out there may have better pictures with the door open.

Knew I had a picture somewhere but sod’s law it’s another of the front with the door closed- if I find one of it open I’ll post it up- very rare safes

[unknown]

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