Lots of British Safe Plaques - leave a comment

Huntlocks

Hope you like the pictures of my collection of safe plaques. Leave me a comment, ask a question, any swaps, what-ever…

I have collected them over a period of 20 years as a safe ‘refurbisher’. We would strip the safe down, repair the hinges, if possible, sort out the lock and keys and repaint them. No place for that old piece of brass so I put them on my shelves. Now they are on my office wall.

I could make a better profit selling second hand safes than new ones.

The market seems to have dried up now. Insurers want graded safes and even look down their noses and really good quality second hand safes. Big companies want new safes and they don’t hold much more than a few hundred pounds for petty cash so the market has changed dramatically over the past 20 years.

Huntlocks

More Plaques from my collection.

The Thomas Perry safe was sold to a small jeweller. To save money he delivered it himself by borrowing our pallet truck and trundling it through the town centre to his shop. On arrival he and his assistant attempted to lift it up one step and it fell over - can’t imagine how - or where - the shop was only 8 feet by 12. Anyway, they survived and brought the truck back.

Huntlocks

My Milners plaques. The 212 on the Milners plaques refers to the boiling point of water in Fahrenheit. Ah…you may say…

Huntlocks

I hope others will be able to download pictures of their plaques onto this post. Resize them to about 700 pixels wide for all to view. If you are not familiar with resizing your pictures you can email them to me and I will be pleased to group them or post them on your behalf.

Huntlocks

some more of my plaques

JRSLOCK

Nice plates!!

Huntlocks

Hey, thanks Joe. 548 veiwings and you are the first person to leave a comment. Thanks again.

Would be nice to know what people think even if it’s just ’pity you didn’t get them square on the page’

I intended improving the photos in the future but it is very time consuming.

Cheers from sunny Cambridgeshire.

Tom Gordon

it is difficult to make comments sometimes. They are nice pictures and nice plates and you even have three that I don’t have myself.
The good thing about safe plate collecting is that you can easily find more that you do not have (however many you already have in your collection).
How many UK plates does everyone think would constitute a fairly complete collection?
cheers
Old Tom

Huntlocks

Hi Tom

Hope it’s been nice down you way too today.

How many different plaques do you think were made? Each maker had many versions. Lots of makers went out of business but I don’t know how many different ones there are - must be a couple of hundred? How many do you have? I admit I’ve not counted mine, probably 30 max.

Anyway, I read you were the worlds largest collector. That can’t be right I’m 6′3″. Post a few pics.

Cheers,

Richard

sparkyskey

Richard - it has taken me all this time to overcome my jealousy and post a reply :-) Of course - your collection is impressive and I love the photos, one or two of them in particular.

I’m on the search for a couple of Milner safe plates (like your Milner Varn one). However - the two I am replacing had different wording on them: one says “improved for the government registry 1849”, and the other “improved for the government registry & courts 1857”.

Can anyone tell me why two plates from the same safe would differ - or most likely was one a later replacement? Any other info also appreciated.

Keep posting any extra’s you have Richard - they are great reference points and very much appreciated. Thanks for sharing :-)

Cheers Sarah

Tom Gordon

You will have a lot of trouble finding another 1849 one -either of them might have been replaced but the 1857 one will be exceptionally easy to find a duplicate of. Several different sizes remember.
The “worlds largest safeplate collector” wasn’t referring to my height :-)
Cheers
Tom

Paul

I am looking for history on a gunmaker, W H Wakefield & Co who operated in Burmingham at several locations between 1897 and 1905 them possibly in other locations up to 1938.
I noticed you have a safe plaque from a W H Wakefield & Co and wondered if you had any history or information on the safe manufacturer and if the gunmaker and safemaker are the same company.

Cheers
Paul Lackey
Newcastle Australia

Huntlocks

Sorry Paul, absolutely nothing.

I am an accidental collector. I assume you have Googled it?

bimmy

Huntlocks wrote
Hope you like the pictures of my collection of safe plaques. Leave me a comment, ask a question, any swaps, what-ever…

I have collected them over a period of 20 years as a safe ‘refurbisher’. We would strip the safe down, repair the hinges, if possible, sort out the lock and keys and repaint them. No place for that old piece of brass so I put them on my shelves. Now they are on my office wall.

I could make a better profit selling second hand safes than new ones.

The market seems to have dried up now. Insurers want graded safes and even look down their noses and really good quality second hand safes. Big companies want new safes and they don’t hold much more than a few hundred pounds for petty cash so the market has changed dramatically over the past 20 years.

I notice you have a chubb plaque stating BY Royal appointment CHUBB, lock & safe makers, 128 Queen Victoria St, London. Can you give me the history,and any value attached. I have six such plaques, with 4 escutcheon (fish logo) plates and 2 heavy sets of decrative solid brass handles and a further 3 sets of plain brass handles all original and from the same chubb safes. (salvaged during a refurb)

Tom Gordon

I think that you will have guessed from the ease with which you have aquired so many of them, that they are quite common - there are many versions that can look similar as they were used over quite a long period by a manufacturer on an enormous number of safes. Look on ebay and you will almost always find them - an iron one there at the moment-110173596431 and an esc 110173595673

Russell Stoner

Hello

Looks like you have the start of a good collection.

I am Russell Stoner, one of the current owners of Withy Grove. You may have heard about us over your lifetime or perhaps, collected a few of our old badges from 1850 onwards. Like you, I am an avid collecter of safe plates, escutcheons, and for my sins, I love to collect & renovate old safes. I tend to specialise in the era 1875-1930.

I’ve, within the last 3 days had to scrap, much to my annoyance a couply of old safes, however their badges now are part of our collection. My last badge was a G.Lucas, late G.Lucas & Co. Ironically, the same badge is pictured on the Jim Evans Gazateer web pages. Shame that he passed over!!

You have in your collection , what looks to be a badge from a J Tann, Reliance. I have one that was retrieved from a 1937 safe. Broke my heart to scrap…needs must!!

For my sins, it appears that my name is getting banded around the globe in relation to safe identification. I took a call from an american magician who was researching into Houdini, and his ‘unpickable’ handcuffs. From the descript of the key, an angled cog and the fact of Houdini’s French shows, circa 1914/15 (ish), I advised him to speak to Fichet in France. The guy rang back with 100% success.

It would be good to keep in touch. If you have interesting news or new badges, I am always interested.

Regards
Russell Stoner-Withy Grove
T: 0113 2721441
http://www.withygrovesafes.net
http://www.withygrovefurniture.com

Tom Gordon

Well well. I never realised that Withy Grove were still going. I have quite a large number of different plates from them amongst my enormous collection. Are your plates visible anywhere on the net or elsewhere Russell?
Cheers
Tom

Warren63

Huntlocks wrote
More Plaques from my collection.

The Thomas Perry safe was sold to a small jeweller. To save money he delivered it himself by borrowing our pallet truck and trundling it through the town centre to his shop. On arrival he and his assistant attempted to lift it up one step and it fell over - can’t imagine how - or where - the shop was only 8 feet by 12. Anyway, they survived and brought the truck back.

Absolutely beautiful Hobbs plaque, I’ve been trying to aquire one of these for my collection for years. Envy envy envy.

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