Tag: antique safes

The last post talked about hobnail safes which were made in the early 1800’s.  Wooden bodies covered with steel strips made them somewhat fire resistant.  In an effort to improve fire protection manufacturers switched over time to using other materials for insulation.

John Scott, whose hobnail safe was featured in the last post, seems to have been the first manufacturer to switch to asbestos, around 1840 or so.  His patent for using asbestos was issued in 1834.

The history of people using asbestos goes way back.  As early as 4000 BC asbestos fibers were used as wicks in candles and lamps.  Egyptians wrapped mummies in asbestos blankets around 2000 to 3000 BC.  It has been found in pottery from 2500 BC.  When burning tar was lobbed over fortress walls with catapults, it was held together with a bag made of asbestos.  But its use really took off during the industrial revolution.  Surprisingly, some of its harmful effects were known way back by the ancient Greeks and Romans because slaves working in the mines suffered from lung problems.

Personally, my first experience with asbestos was when I stole an asbestos rock from my high school science room because it was fun to peel off strands of the silky fiber.  And when the exhaust pipe on my old car rusted apart, it was patched with a sheet of thick asbestos felt, wrapped with a soup can, held together by coat hanger wire.  I must have breathed in some of it while laying on my back, looking straight up at my repair work.  Anyway, this is supposed to be about safes . . .

Pictured is one of my favorite antique safes.  The insulation is asbestos mixed with plaster of Paris, applied over the wood interior wall, then wrapped by steel plate.  This model does not make a very good end table because of the round top.  But it is a unique conversation piece.  I am not concerned about asbestos because the safe does not give off dust.

It is hard to tell which old safes contain asbestos, in part because it was used in different forms.  Some makers mixed it with plaster of Paris or concrete.  Some used soft board-like sheets, and some used thick, light-weight fiber “blankets”.  Safes with the soft boards or blankets usually give off dust, so I won’t deal with them.  Some manufacturers had fancy names for their asbestos insulation; the Macey Company from Grand Rapids, Michigan called it “H-E-L-F-I-T-E” to emphasize its fire resistance.

Thankfully, the safe industry kept evolving and eventually settled on different kinds of insulation.

The 1832 newspaper ad shown here talks about the excellent performance of a “hobnail safe” when it went through a fire in New Orleans in 1831.  The safe in question was built by John Scott of Philadelphia, who was one of the leading safe makers at the time.  One of the hobnail safes in our store was apparently built by John Scott.  It looks just like the unit shown in the ad, inside and out.  This ad was, in fact, inside our safe when we bought it.

Hobnail safes have wooden bodies.  The wood was soaked in salt water prior to making the safe, so that it would be more fire resistant.  To give them more burglary deterrence strips of steel were interwoven and secured to the wood using large spikes with big round heads.  The big round heads all over the exterior are why they are called hobnail safes.  A fun thing about these units is that one, or several, of these spikes move sideways to cover up the keyhole.  Keys are typically huge “skeleton” type keys.  The other John Scott hobnails in our collection do not have stained and varnished wood interiors; rather, they are both pained in a strange “rusty-orange” paint.  Jesse Delano was the other major maker of hobnails in the U.S.

It does not seem to make sense that wood could be used to for insulation in a fire safe.  But apparently if the wood is covered from direct contact with fire, its porousness makes decent insulation.

Hobnail safes in good condition are unusual and, therefore, not cheap.  We have a few for sale, however, so call if you are interested in a nice antique safe.

Pictured is an extremely rare Carl Ade antique safe which is for sale in our store.  This may be the only one in the U.S. as I have never seen or heard of another one.  You can find posters and prints of old Carl Ade advertisements, but not actual safes.  A German member of the Safe and Vault Technician’s Association has seen several in Europe.  He said it was built in Stuttgart Germany between 1888 and 1892.  This particular safe was brought to Michigan in the 1970’s by a German manufacturer when they built a factory here.

 

The safe is 36” tall by 28” wide and is built into a beautiful wooden cabinet which is 67” tall.  It features true German quality including the most air-tight door I have ever seen.  The key is a rectangular brass tube ½” x 3/16” x 2 ¼”, with openings on the end and one side to expose precision tumblers inside.  Security is enhanced by unique hook-type bolts, which I have not seen anywhere else.

If anyone has ever seen another Carl Ade safe please call to let me know.  We are always looking to buy high quality antique safes and vault doors.