The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-05-14
FROM LATCH TO LOCK.
How Ancient Forms of Security Devel-
oped to the Present Stage.
From the New York Recorder

From the New York Recorder.
Now that the modern methods of max
ing our possessions secure have reached
such a state of perfection, it may be in
tcresting to note some of heancient locks
and keys. The Oldest substitute for lock
and key is the latch and bolt, and the lat
ter have been used from the dawn of the
most primitive civilization to the present
day. At a very early date--pcrhaps 1900
years aTO-the wooden latch was made
more secure by introducing a sort of
wooden lever. with nOtches to raise the
latch. This lever is regarded as the oldest
shape Of the key and is thrust in the lock
sideways. H. later times il was made Of iron
and still continues to be used in Out-of-the-
way places all over the world-in Scandi-
navia, Russia, Germany, in Upper Egypt,
in South America and probably in our
own country. The wooden lock held its
own through classic and Byzantine times,
but the keys were made of iron or bronze.
Roman and Byzantine keys were Of the
simplest shape, but specimens with ar
tistically decorated bows are also found,
and the miniature keys Roman ladies
used for their jewel caskets were of ex-
quisite workmanship Locks made from
metal were first introduced during the
Gothic period, and artistic door mOuntings
in the shape of ornamental door hinges,
lock plates, etc, became general The
intricacies of the inn lock were carried to
the highest perfection, innumerable
nOtches being cut in the bit to guard
against wiles Of the medieval burglar.
The same style of keys continued through
Romantic times. COS
In the renaissance period keys became
real jewels of iron. Busts, monograms,
coronets, etc, were set in lacework OF
tracery or enriched with delicate acan-
thus foliage, which caused the bows of
some Of those keys to rival the most deli
cate jewelry. The guillochures of their
shafts and the complication of their wards
correspond to this elegance. The key of
Italian workmanship is fine specimen of
artistic ornamentation in iron Inlaid with
silver, while others belong to the late
renaissance just before it merged into the
rocco style. The notches were still as in
tricate as they used to be in the Gothic
period, and actually correspond
with the wards or projecting ridges
of metal in the interior of the lock. so as
to prevent any other key being used in
which the notch did not fit the wards
With the Introduction of the French box
lock, toward the middle of the seven teenth
century, the no longer visible upper parts
of the lock, as well as the notches of the
key bit, were more or less neglected, and
the latter became merely ornaments, with
no wards to correspond. During rocco
times the bows became ornamental in the
style of the period. With the beginning
of the present century the lock-
smiths art gradually declined, and only
revived for a short interval about sixty
years ago, when ornamental steel keys
became a fleeting fashion. After this
locks and keys were produced by ma
chinery, with hardly any trace Of decora-
ton. Quite recently repeated attempts
have been made to introduce ornamental
keys for cabinets, baskets, ETC., and the
designs published for this purpose in va
rious technical journals abroad deserve
every attention. They are copied and
adapted from the best models of the re-
naissance and 10000 methods.