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Warren63

Hi again, could anyone tell me what make of safe this plaque belonged to. I’ve tried to no avail on the internet and found nothing Thanks for any help you can give.

Huw Eastwood

Hi mark this could be off a Milners- only maker i know that listed a ‘Class E’. Not sure about the warranted bit and not sure if I’ve seen one but they were up in the ranks of the Bankers, ‘D Series’ and Branch Bank- that’s just below their Diamond I’ve mentioned on the other thread.

safeman

My first impression is that this belongs to a European safe and is probably the secondary plate showing
only the classification.

The design strikes a 19th century note similar to that on the attachment. British safes of the period carried no
classifications for fire or burglary until after the last war. Tested fire protection in the UK only came about when UL tested
Library Bureau fire-files and cabinets started coming in from the US. (Chubb RP Cabts. and files for instance)

Burglary grading on British safes was only undertaken well after the war when export markets were being sought and
the actual testing and grading carried out by the respective test houses in Europe, Scandinavia, and the United States.

The first British testing and certification body was established by the LPCB at the Fire Research Laboratories in Borehamwood
in 1992 in the same premises where the FOC fire tests had previously been conducted.

Huw Eastwood

Yes it was a bit of an off target shot in the dark! Milners was the only maker I can think of that used the ‘Class E’ in addition to the usual terms like ‘List..’ and ‘Grade..’ etc. Others used ‘Quality..’ , ‘Progress..’ etc but not aware of another Class E. Anyway more likely it would have been one of their typical circular plates and not small separates like those

When you say European safe do you mean one actually european made or a British safe made for export, as I’ve always been led to believe that many unscrupulous makers made all sorts of rubbish for export- often decorated with fancy plates and claims which were often made-up and meaningless.

Warren63

MaxVaultage wrote
Yes it was a bit of an off target shot in the dark! Milners was the only maker I can think of that used the ‘Class E’ in addition to the usual terms like ‘List..’ and ‘Grade..’ etc. Others used ‘Quality..’ , ‘Progress..’ etc but not aware of another Class E. Anyway more likely it would have been one of their typical circular plates and not small separates like those

When you say European safe do you mean one actually european made or a British safe made for export, as I’ve always been led to believe that many unscrupulous makers made all sorts of rubbish for export- often decorated with fancy plates and claims which were often made-up and meaningless.

Hi. And thanks for the great info chaps. Like you said Huw I think Milners were putting the grades on the round plates as I’ve just acquired one stating list 6. I never thought of it being anything othdr than British but when I look at it now it does have a European look to it. If anyone else could tell me anything about it I it would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks

[unknown]

safeman

As MaxVaultage suggests, there were many unscrupulous safe-makers exporting their products in the 19th Century, often bearing coats-of-arms identical to the Royal Cypher to suggest that they were warranted.

These makers however did not include the major companies who had highly respected agents throughout the colonies such as the John Tann Reliance agent as depicted in the attachment.

The safes were identical to those intended for the home market.

Warren63

Another excellent bit of information men. Thanks for your input. I’m quite surprised Tann never added a crown or coat of arms to those cast iron plaques as shown in the ad. Especially if they truly were carting the crown jewels in them. Or even a banner type stating they had the royal seal of approval.