Doug MacQueen wroteAt this point, the earliest safe deposit bank I’ve found was started right after the Civil War. I could be wrong as it has been several years ago. Yale Jr. had introduced his small pin lock right around the same time. I do know there were numerous flat lever lock push keys already in use years before the war. I have never seen any mention of just when and why the flat rotating lever lock key was introduced. It may show up in a patent. In the banks, there would be both the concern of how hard to pick as well as break open or drill. My experience in picking flat key SD lever locks was not very successful, especially when compared to lever locks with a 2-in-1. That is what makes me think the flat style became widely used here, at least by the banks, as it negates the value of the 2-in-1. Then again, I have been told that early Yale pin locks can be a tough pick. Doug
I did a little online research and discovered a confluence of events that may have had some influence but didn’t find the answer for when safe deposit locks started being used.. The LeFebure site is the only one that attempts to examine history and it says:
In the mid to late 1800s, horse drawn stagecoaches traversed the wilds of America, carrying passengers on long journeys across large expanses of the frontier. During overnight stays at stage depots, it became common for station masters to offer passengers individual locked compartments inside the depot’s safe to protect their valuables. The passenger would keep the compartment key, and the station master kept the safe’s combination, providing a double layer of security. This early practice eventually evolved into the safe deposit system used by banks, hotels, and other institutions throughout the world today.
But checking on Wells-Fargo information doesn’t indicate that is true. Wells-Fargo started in 1857 but they only used their coaches for transporting mail and gold. There were a lot of smaller coach lines that may or may not have carried passengers. In 1866 Wells-Fargo bought out all the smaller coach lines and formed the Great Overland Coach Company which carried the mail and passengers from St. Louis to San Francisco. Those trips stopped at stations only long enough for the passengers to get coffee to have with their jerky and to change the horses. There was no need for a safe deposit box. BTW, it said the trip took 25 days.
In 1869 the Great Overland Coach Company was finished because of the completion of the trans-continental railroad. I think my original idea about wanting to get away from a standard round bit key seems more likely for why a flat key was used.
Regarding Yale, the original patent, (48,475), for a pin tumbler cylinder with a flat key was issued in 1865 but it doesn’t seem to have been produced then. In 1868, the year Linus Yale Jr. died, he entered into business with Henry Towne to form Yale & Towne. Mr. Towne’s expertise was with cranes and machinery to move heavy stuff. That original cylinder patent was reissued, (RE8,158), in 1878.
The key use index at the Yale factory calls a flat key with no millings key section A. That record further indicates that it was used for number 2 and number 2 ½ were used from 1868 until 1877 when the reissue application was filed. In 1887 the key section for cupboard locks and night latches was changed to C1R and the padlocks used it until 1897 when they were changed to E3R. It may be that the reason for discontinuing the flat key was a wider usage by others in safe deposit locks. If so, that info wasn’t recorded.
BBE.
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