The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1873-12-04
PROPOSALS.
PROPOSALS..
fn.I PROPOSALS
FOR MAIL LOCKS AND KEYS.
POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT, Z
WAsHISaToN. d. O.. Sept. IL, 1879.

SEPARATE SEALED PROPOSALS
win be received at this Department until II
o'clock noon, the FIFTEENTH DAY OF DE-
GENDER, 1873, for furnishing, under separate
contracts. two different kinds Of padlocks and
keys: one for the sole and exclusive of regis
tered through mails. and the other for the sole
and exclusive use of street letter bones.
Every proposal must be accompanied with du-
plicate samples of the locks and keys thereby
offered to be furnished one of each kind of
sample lock to be riveted up and finished, and
another to be open or unriyeted, SO that its In.
ternal structure and arrangement may readily
be examined. Each sample should be plainly
marked with the bidders name, and If the
same, or any part thereof, be covered by pa
tent, the name of the patentee must be attached
thereto. 1t must also be such as shall be war;
rented to not infringe on any patented invention
Of which the bidder is not the patentee or as
signee.
The Internal plan or arrangement of the locks
offered, and the particular form of the keys re-
quisite to open them, must not be like any now or
hitherto In pnDlic or private use, and must not
have been exhibited, described or exposed, in
any manner tending to impair their security and
usefulness for the mails; and it will be an i'm.
key submitted it, being otherwise suitable it
shall have been invented specially for the pur-
pose for which it Is offered.
Locks suitable for the registered mails. or for
the street letter boxes, should not exceed eight
ounces each in weight, and should possess high
degree Of security, strength and durability.
Every such lock, while it must be secure from
being opened by any other means than by its
peculiar key, (unless designedly broken by ex-
treme and obvious yiolence.) must be devoid of
any intricacy in opening with the proper kew.
and be capable of being securely shut without
the use OF the key. The shape or size of the
ockz for registered matls should be such as to
make them distingulshable at glance from the
locks of the street letter 6ones, and both should,
by their external shape, be instantly distinguish.
able from the mail locks now in use.
The Registered Mail Locks should be made of
hard and tough brass, excepting the shackle and
rivets, which must be iron, the latter we'll
shouldered, countersunk, and headed at both
ends The shell or case of such locks must not
have sharp angles, and must be free from
knobs, escutcheons, or other appendages likely
to be compressed. battered, or knocked out of
order by the peculiarly hard usage of the service.
Each lock is to have outside upon its face, in
letters sufficiently large and distinct, "U S. Re-
gfstered Mail" and also such number, lin
figures, each, not less than 6-i6 of an inch long
as may be ordered; a different number, not ex-
ceeding four places of figures in any case, being
required ON each lock. Such words and figures
are to be sunk by stamping, If the shell be made
of wrought or sheet brass or to be raised if the
shell be made OF cast metal All the locks for
registered mails are to be uniformly alike, ex-
mAr{a6
tneir Keys which should be case-hardened iron
and nickel-plated, are to be also alike, so that
any one of all the keys which may be furnished