Found safe, help with ID

Birdseye

Hi all.

I got this safe along with a house we bought. The front was repainted, unfortunately. I cannot see any markings.

I’d like to know whoi made it and about how old it is. Also, two of the wheels are missing as is a pointy thing that goes on top of the hinge. Does anyone have a resourse for replacements?

Thank you.

Dean Nickel

There appears to be a faint name still on the top front. All I can make out is Douglas Safe… and then something else. It might be Company.

Birdseye

Nice catch. I examined the front of the safe and saw nothing so I didn’t examine the photo that closely. My bad.

The Douglas Safe Company existed in New Haven CT in the 1890’s (gotta love Google). They are identified as a “dealer”, as opposed to “manufacturer” of safes in the city directory of 1899. I guess they might have slapped their name on a safe made by someone else.

Anyone hear of this outfit or have a suggestion as to who made the safe?

Thanks.

———- Post added at 01:11 PM ———- Previous post was at 12:56 PM ———-

BTW, does anyone know of a source for parts (wheels and hinge caps?) Thanks.

Dean Nickel

As to the parts… a machine shop is the only way I know to get those. Cast Iron was the main way they got those wheel parts and they would crack and fall off. Machine steel would hold better with any weight and can be painted with black paint to look right. Do all 4 when you have it done.

Look at the back of the safe lock. This might tell us who made the lock. You will have to remove the inner pannel of the door. Take some pictures of it and inside the lock too.

Doug MacQueen

The hinges narrow it down some but the dial ring really is unusual so it may be a maker I ’ve never seen. Yes I agree we need lock pictures. The safe is typical of latter 1800’s and early 1900’s. The hinge caps are usually called fineals although I probably spelled that wrong.

Birdseye

I’ll try to get some more today. The power was off when I took the other ones so they are a lot more contrasty than I would have liked.

Stay tuned.

Birdseye

Some more pictures ….

Couple of notes. I took a bunch and it may be overkill but this really isn’t my area so I decided to maybe overdo it a bit.

The inside of the door looks like it is filled with cement. Could it be they cheated and added weight that was cheaper that steel?!!!:shock:

Also the roman numerals XXIII appear on the cement in the door as well as on the backside of the inside panel.

Looks like it was repainted a bit but the inside seems pretty pristine. I’ll remove the lockable box and see if there are any markings.

Again, I appreciate your thoughts and information.

ETA… the sequence 1147 is on the locking handle. The font of the 7 looks like the font I have seen used on the sight of a ca. 1890 cannon made in CT. Just a funny observation.

Dean Nickel

The Cement would have been for fire protection.

The lock is a simple lock and would have been on cheaper safes… as they are today on like Sentry… just updated with some false cuts in the wheel.

Arcouette

I would say this is an ALPINE Safe from Cincinnati. Acorns and hinges match as does the lock. Often seen with PAT JUNE 12 ’88 painted on inside of door panel. May I suggest working on the door paint very gently with paint remover and steel wool, may be able to work your way to original paint. Go slow. Many companies offered the option to put the original purchaser’s name above the door. Good Luck

Birdseye

Excellent information, thank you all.

I think that this is the patent referred to:

http://www.google.com/patents?id=gK9mAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4&source=gbs_overview_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false

It assigns half of the patent for a tumbler mechanism to the Atlas Safe Company.