To follow up on my previous post - I have updated information as to the timelines of Romer & Co. branded padlocks being sold. I’ve seen several sources online (the basis for my earlier post) that suggest J. H. Wilkins (the “& Co.” in Romer & Co.) bought out Charles W. A. Romer in 1883. The general assumption seems to be that Romer & Co. ceased to exist by name at that time and going forward all manufacturing and sale was under the JHW Climax brand. This was a good scenario for me as a potential lock collector - I could place any Romer branded lock into a fairly tight timeframe of 1860s-1883.
Unfortunately, this turns out not to be the case. From a Corporate Entity perspective, J. H. Wilkins may have been in charge as of 1883, and the controlling company named JHW Climax, but the Romer padlock designs, and Romer branded locks appear to continue on for decades.
Evidence of this:
-There are advertisements and Newark Directory listings for Romer & Co. padlock mfg after 1883.
-Romer & Co. branded locks show up alongside JHW Climax locks in the 1912 JHW Climax catalog.
-There are records of J. H. Wilkins extending the ‘corporate existence’ of Romer & Co in 1883 to 1900, and again to in 1910 to 1920.
cjlindem wroteI can’t help with opening the lock, but just a bit of history- a little research I’ve done on the years of operation of various early American lock companies notes that Henry C. Jones was in business from 1837 through 1863. Charles W. A. Romer was the foreman for HC Jones company and took over the business sometime around 1863. The company was renamed Romer & Co., probably at this time (or at least no later than 1868 when Jones died). Unless your trunk was constructed with older lock parts, it was probably more of a mid-19th century construction. Very cool!
To continue the lineage, a John H. Wilkins (JHW) was a partner in Romer & Co. and took over in 1883 to form the J.H.W. Climax Company
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