Tann's Reliance Safe, more information please.

Tony

Hello all.
I hope you don,t mind, I was hoping you could help me with my Query.
I am in Australia and have recently obtained a John Tann’s reliance safe, It has the anchore style badging on the front of the door that looks to be manufactured from copper / brass with a seperate badge at the bottom front that indicates an address of origin at 11 Newgate St London and then a number “2”. There is a large round mettle badge on the inside of the door repeating this information but without the anchore.
The serial number is embosed / engraved in the end of the top rectangular slid pin of which there are three, and is #16770.
I have seen a few John Tann’s safes during my search on the internet, a distinct difference with my safe is that it is larger than those I have seen and does not have the “T” bar handle but two old fashioned brass door nob looking handles, one in the centre of the door that turns to unlatch the door and one that is close to the edge of the door and “fixed”, I presume this is to make pulling the door open much easier.
I am interested in trying to find some history on this safe and an approximate age.
I would appreciate any information / referrals you can give me.
Regards.
Tony

Tom Gordon

1891

Tony

G-day Tom.
Thankyou for your reply and contribution to the information I am searching for.

I am new at this chat forum business, so I hope I,m on the right track and have not pushed in on anyone.
If you (or anyone else) can tell me anything more about this terrific piece of the past I would really appreciate it.

I have managed to print off an old black and white photo of the John Tann’s sign on the end of their old building I found on http://www.sublimephotography.co.uk/gue … /big/4.jpg , but information seems to be hard to pull up on anything about the John Tann,s company and it’s history. I have seen the information posted to Richard regarding his query on a Tann’s safe and it looks like this is the place to be for any further help.

I would like to recondition my safe and keep it as a conversation peice that also has a practical use,I am guessing it was black with the four framed out sections on the front door possibly having been cream coloured?

Does reconditioning it take away from it’s originality from the enthusiasats point of view?

There are two large rectangular paper notices attached to the inside of the door under the large round Reliance badge, I can only just make out “some” of the red print on one while the other is faded to the point where I can not read it. Is it possible to obtain reprints or a copy of what they once said?

Thanks again for the heads up on the date of manufacture Tom.

Heading into an Aussie summer here, melt the pants off a kangaroo.

Regards,
Tony.

Tom Gordon

I believe that the building and the sign are still there
Cheers
Tom

Tony

Hello Tom.

Thank you again for your input. I have since found that Tann’s Reliance safes were represented in Australia by a company named “Brush & Mac Donnell” during the mid eighteen hundreds.

There is an interesting artical named “Trial by Fire” by Julian Holland, describing how in 1859 a public trial was performed in Sydney to test the vapour producing chemicals in the lining of the safe developed by Messrs Tann in 1843, as a means to impress upon potential buyers of the superiority of the John Tann,s product. :shock:

This article can be found on the Metrology Society of Australia web site under “Trail by Fire” for anyone interested.

I am going to try and get a photo of my safe onto the forum, but I have to try and work out how it’s done.

If anyone else can help with any further information about the John Tann,s safe company I would appreciate it.

Regards.

Tony. 😃

safeman

Tony, your email sent directly to me at Safeman and to which I tried to reply cannot be sent for some reason - something about a server error - so I’m putting it in the forum in the hope that you get it that way. Hello Tony. I must apologise for having taken so long to reply to your
email. I am pleased to be of help - I hope.
The delay is due to my having put your safe number to the Gunnebo company
who have now more or less taken over all the main British safe makers. I
see that Tom Gordon has given you a date of 1891. Normally I would have
expected to have been given the safes quality and date of manufacture but
the Tann record books seem to have gone astray during transit when Tanns
closed their offices so no help from that quarter.

This only leaves photography as the answer, and I see from your
correspondance that this might present a problem. If you do manage to get
it done it is always helpful to see the inside of the door as well as the
exterior. You mention a metal plate on the inside of the door. These plates
often state the quality - such as List 3 - Commercial - etc.

If you have a look at http://www.safeman.org.uk , at the end of the first section
called ‘about safes’, you will find extracts from the London Trades
Directories from 1842 to 1907, and you will see that there were in fact
three different safe makers all with the name Tann. They were in fact all
members of the same family and traded within close proximity to each other.
The most notable, John Tann, used the name Reliance after their lock patent,
while Robert Tann used the name ‘Defiance’, and George the name ‘Trusty’,
the latter two warning potential customers to beware of imitations !

The photograph of the gable end with Tann’s advert is in fact on the end of
the building at 2 Minerva Terrace (part of Hackney Road) where the Tann
family lived, with the manufactury alongside in Hope Street. George Tann
also had his works in the same street at number 18. This street changed its
name to Tredway Street about the same time that your safe was built.

Anyway, enough for now. I do hope that you can send me some photographs when
I should be able to give you more detailed information.

Best Regards…. Safeman.

Tony

G-day G-day Safeman.

Thank you so much for all that you have contributed.

I have to admitt this safe has grabbed my imagination a bit and I look at it with a growing sense of appreciation when I think of how old it is, the people that would have had a direct hand in it’s manufacture, how far it has travelled, and the people that would have stood in front of it’s open door over the last 116 years.

I would even like to see if I can find out which ship it would have been sent to Australia on.

If only it could talk hey.

Thank you again for your efforts to help safeman, I will endeavour to have a photo or three on the forum over the next few days for any further comment by anyone who thinks they can help.

Regards.

Tony.