anybody know the value or age of this key?

ekstudios

I recently came across this skeleton key in a bundle of keys and all I know is that it was made by Barrows MFG. CO. in Lockport, Illinois and the company was bought out by Yale & Towne in 1932. That is as far as I got and I could not find any photos of their keys and I’m not good at guessing the age of things. Thanks!

Scott Klemm

This is an example of a flat sheet metal door key. Looking closely at the first picture, one can see a seam revealing two pieces suggesting an 1880’s date. The key was cut from sheet metal and then folded in half. This process was first patented by Emory Parker on November 2, 1880. I’m not an expert on this topic, but one can learn more by reading “Key Making in the 1800’s” by Richard Chenovick in the July-Sept. 2008 issue of The Antique Lock Collector published by the West Coast Lock Collector’s Association. I have no idea of value, but Chenovick wrote “ These keys are also very collectable as in some cases few were made and consequently they can be difficult to find.”

ekstudios

Scott Klemm wrote
This is an example of a flat sheet metal door key. Looking closely at the first picture, one can see a seam revealing two pieces suggesting an 1880’s date. The key was cut from sheet metal and then folded in half. This process was first patented by Emory Parker on November 2, 1880. I’m not an expert on this topic, but one can learn more by reading “Key Making in the 1800’s” by Richard Chenovick in the July-Sept. 2008 issue of The Antique Lock Collector published by the West Coast Lock Collector’s Association. I have no idea of value, but Chenovick wrote “ These keys are also very collectable as in some cases few were made and consequently they can be difficult to find.”

thank you so much for the info! I will check out “key making in the 1800’s”

[unknown]

Adrian Weber

That’s a beautiful key ek 🙁clap):

Tom Gordon

In Britain, the ones that were made in this way were very cheap and 20th century. Infact if I had enough time to sort out my boxes of old keys I am confident of finding a few - when were they mainly made in America in that style?

Billy B Edwards Jr. CML

Tom Gordon wrote
In Britain, the ones that were made in this way were very cheap and 20th century. Infact if I had enough time to sort out my boxes of old keys I am confident of finding a few - when were they mainly made in America in that style?

It was common in the US to make them that way during WWII. The bow and stem were stamped steel and the post and bit were zinc diecast, consequently they were called bi-metalic. The reason was a shortage of brass and bronze because of the war.
BBE.

[unknown]