Cast Iron Keys on Sprue? information wanted

rivett608

Hello, I am new here and collect a lot of different metal objects…. locks and keys are not among them however as with any collector one tends to pick up extra cool stuff. I am thinking of thinning out a little on ebay but always like to know what I am listing so I can get it correct.

About 35 years ago a friend bought a bunch of these at auction near Lancaster Pa. He also got some of the casting molds, lock parts, etc….. all this was sold years ago, however he had given me one sprue of iron keys. This casting sprue hung on my wall for years and then went in a box where it has lived ever since. As can be seen it is cast in iron and has light surface rust on it….. it is very brittle and a few keys have cracked and fallen off.

What I am wondering is there anyway to identify the maker? There are no marks on the keys. Are these fairly scarce? Any idea of value (if that is aloud on this forum)

Thanks for any help.

rivett608

Also, what might be the age? Thanks Again.

Gerry

hello,

i do not know anything about value, sorry.

i just can say, this kind of keys (schlüsselbaum) in germany
were first made in the starting 19.th century in velbert.

http://www.cityjournal24.de/article36.html

http://www.museum-velbert.de/

your keys are not german keys maybe coming from uk or usa.

Dean Nickel

[HR][/HR]It could have been Reading Lock. But then it could have been quite a few lock makers. Do you know what town it came from? The NE part of the US had many lock makers. PA would narrow it down a bit but I seem to remember at least three that made stuff there. I think BBE might know more so we can wait for his input. Also I can’t find my Lock Makers of America right now so if anyone has a copy to look it there.

Pschiffe

The Penn Hardware Co. was also located in Reading, PA. It was merged into Penn Akron Corp. c.1960 and moved to Terryville, CT where it became part of the Eagle Lock Co. The Eagle Lock Co. plant was closed in June, 1975.*

*adapted from Locks and Lockmakers of America, Rev. 3rd Ed. by Thomas F. Hennessy

Pete Schifferli

Billy B Edwards Jr. CML

Bit keys on the spru are not rare but they aren’t what you would call common either. All of the ones I have are cast of brass or bronze. That yours is cast iron is somewhat unusual as that medium was hard to cast and get such fine deitail and the molds didn’t last long. Most castings were brass or zinc.

I have gotten such castings for between $25 and $75 dollars depending upon the keys involved. Some were bit keys, some clock keys and some railroad keys. Hope that helps.
BBE.
ps. there are almost always 1 or 2 that break off.

rivett608

Thank you all, this is great help…… funny thing is if I remember correctly there were also castings of brass in the group of stuff my friend got……. it is ashamed I don’t remember what town these came from, back in those days we would go to a few auctions each week along the Maryland/Pennsylvania line….. got some great old stuff back then.

Doug MacQueen

While difficult to do, cast iron was widely used in the latter 1800’s in the U.S. Practically all of the mortise locks cases, sometimes the internal parts and many times the keys were cast iron. This practice also holds true in the making of fire safe locks, where brass/bronze cases were only found on the less common burglary chests. I don’t know if they are still available, but Tayler was a big supplier of cast iron blanks and “skeleton” keys when I worked as a locksmith. Doug

Dean Nickel

Taylor is now owned by Ilco, the brand is all but gone, and those are made off shore, but yes they are still made.

Pschiffe

Halflock wrote
Taylor is now owned by Ilco, the brand is all but gone, and those are made off shore, but yes they are still made.

The old Taylor Lock Co. of Philadelphia, PA began in 1920 and was sold to in Ilco in 1986*. Taylor exists today in name only. They did offer an extensive line of malleable iron key blanks, their Catalog 35 c.1966 featured eleven full pages and many were made in Germany. Ilco still offers some bit key blanks but perhaps only about half as many as Taylor once did.

*adapted from Locks and Lockmakers of America, Rev. 3rd Ed. by Thomas F. Hennessy

Pete Schifferli

[unknown]

rivett608

Thank you for all your help, these are now on ebay should anyone be interested.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/170981706582?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

switchkey

rivett608 wrote
Hello, I am new here and collect a lot of different metal objects…. locks and keys are not among them however as with any collector one tends to pick up extra cool stuff. I am thinking of thinning out a little on ebay but always like to know what I am listing so I can get it correct.

About 35 years ago a friend bought a bunch of these at auction near Lancaster Pa. He also got some of the casting molds, lock parts, etc….. all this was sold years ago, however he had given me one sprue of iron keys. This casting sprue hung on my wall for years and then went in a box where it has lived ever since. As can be seen it is cast in iron and has light surface rust on it….. it is very brittle and a few keys have cracked and fallen off.

What I am wondering is there anyway to identify the maker? There are no marks on the keys. Are these fairly scarce? Any idea of value (if that is aloud on this forum)

Thanks for any help.

Selling over 400 antique railroad switch keys. www.railroadswitchkey.com is the link to my page with photographs and prices.

[unknown]