Iron lock and set of keys owned by members of the Ellis family
date: label: Date
content: late 19th-early 20th century
name: label: Created by
content: Unidentified
notes: label: Description
content: A two piece iron padlock with a set of two different keys and a tag. The lock consists of two separate cast iron pieces, the body (a) and the shackle (b). There is a raised five-pointed star around the keyhole. The body contains a cylinder which moves to engage the lock and shackle. The shackle is a “U” shaped cylinder with notches that engage with the cylinder. There is a small rectangular key hole in the oval shaped bottom that has a raised five-pointed star around it. There is a ridge around the circumference of the oval.
label: Description
content: The padlock is accompanied by two different keys on a metal key ring (c). There is a cast iron key that has a flat blade with a square or notch like serrations on both sides, and an oval bow with large holes side by side. This key opens the lock. There is also a cast brass skeleton key that has a cylindrical shaft with a rectangular blade at the end with rectangular notches or serrations. The bow is an oval with a double concave hexagonal center slot flanked by two ovals. The third item attached to the ring is a circular flat iron tag.
place: label: Place used
content: Orange County, Virginia, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Black interiors
label: Topic
content: Domestic life
label: Topic
content: Families
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Tools and Equipment
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Clara Ellis Payne
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2012.42.13abc
objectType: label: Type
content: padlocks
label: Type
content: keys (hardware)
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Public domain
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: iron and brass
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D (closed lock): 4 × 3 × 2 1/4 in. (10.2 × 7.6 × 5.7 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D (iron key): 2 7/8 × 1 5/16 × 1/4 in. (7.3 × 3.3 × 0.6 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D (brass key): 2 1/2 × 1 × 3/8 in. (6.4 × 2.5 × 1 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: Diameter (iron tag): 7/8 in. (2.2 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: Diameter (key ring): 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm)