Sampson Mordan (1790 - 9 Apr 1843) was a British silversmith and a co-inventor of the first patented mechanical pencil. During his youth, he was an apprentice of Joseph Bramah - for about a year, before Bramah died. Unlike Bramah, Mordan had a silver mark.
Mordan made many fancy goods, as well as mechanical pencils. Many of these were made in whimsical designs, including a bramah key.
Mordan also made excellent copies of the bramah lock - the patent having expired shortly before Bramah’s death. Mordan made (or had made for him) high quality small safes, which he fitted into wooden carcases such as bedside cabinets, and made the locks for them. Mordan keys often seem a little shorter than Bramah, and they are clearly marked MORDAN.
Mordan also invented (1837) the ‘lock protector’ - what we now call the keyhole-blocking lock, using a bramah-type cylinder lock. Unlike many of the copies, Mordan locks are as high quality as Bramah-made locks.
S Mordan & Co had a works in the City of London, and ceased trading when the works was bltzed in [September?] 1941. However, the company was not liquidated until 1953 - there were casualties among the professional solicitors and accountants, as well as companies, so winding up the war’s dead companies took time.
