I recently managed to find a Yale & Towne “Triple L” three-movement timelock that, after some light restoration work to remove some paint splatter, is in absolutely beautiful condition. I know these aren’t that rare, but it’s always nice to see a nicely-preserved specimen.
I’m going to try to find some time one of the next few days to set up a proper light-tent and get some proper photos… but, for now, here are a few quick snaps from my iPhone.
I know that Yale & Towne started producing this model in 1892; to the best of my ability to date this, based on information I’ve been able to glean from American Genius and elsewhere, I believe this particular unit dates from around 1900 (plus or minus a couple of years)? If anyone has any information that would help to better zero in the dates, I’d be most grateful.
Apologies for this photo: the macro on an iPhone isn’t great, and the mechanisms were running at the time, so things are a bit blurry.
For a 110-year-old piece, I’m really happy with the condition it’s in: it still has the original glass, hardly a scratch anywhere, not a spot of rust, and it runs perfectly. The only thing I have left to do is make a proper key for the door; that was one piece that was lost along the way somewhere, and I’ve had to fashion a temporary one for now. It’s frustratingly close in dimensions to a modern standard handcuff key, but the shaft of the key needs to be ⅛″, which is just slightly smaller… if anyone has a potential lead for one of those (or proper dimensions) that would also be greatly appreciated!
