Help needed with padlock identification.

missmarby

These art pieces were being thrown away and I salvaged them. Can anyone tell me what kind of locks these are? Are they collectable at all? Right now they are hot glue gunned onto a picture and frame type set up. I just love old locks but unfortunately no keys look like they fit, that are included on the frames. Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you, Missmarby

Scott Klemm

In my opinion these locks look like the types made in India. The one inscribed with the name Hobbs & Co. (British) doesn’t look like any I have seen. I would be interested in knowing if others agree with me. Let’s get a few more responses to this posting.

oldbiscuit

Scott, I’m with you as far as origion is concerned. The Hobbs is goofy in the spelling as it has HOBBSS&C. Collector value in my book is $0, but as a wall hanging piece of art, not to bad.

Huw Eastwood

I agree as well guys, and as for the ‘Hobbs’…. from the miss-spelt name, to the way they randomly used every stamp they had to cover the entire front, it doesn’t resemble anything original from their factory. All the Hobb’s locks I have and have seen, are all very precisely marked with some of the finest stampings, always in a distinctive and intricate font, and are all ‘HOBBS&Co’ or ‘Hobbs&Co’ with a fine ‘LONDON’ which is always in capitals.

All is not lost though as like oldbiscuit says, they will always have some form of appeal for display

Richard Phillips

Clearly Indian - look also at the typical style of keys. At least one is modeled on a German model. They are probably early- to middle-20C, but difficult to date as most could also have been made last year.

The OP might like to try a picture of the barbed wires on a barbed wire collectors’ forum, they might offer some limits of age.