Fanciful Fittings
Victorian hardware opened doors to more artful interiors. A buyers' guide.

By Nancy E. Berry

Photo Courtesy of Andy Olenick

Once the wallflower of house parts, builders' hardware blossomed in the late 1800s. The Industrial Revolution, new house designs, and Victorian artistic sensibilities gave rise to this decorative makeover. Today many of the florid ornamental styles from hardware's golden age are enjoying a renaissance. Several companies are selling or recasting historically accurate designs for old houses, and when it comes to fitting out old doors, windows, and built-ins with hardware, your choices are vast and varied. Do you choose antique or reproduction? Brass, bronze, or cast iron? What about all those design patterns and finishes? Here's a look at the industry's origins as well as some of the players today dealing in these ornate yet functional fittings.

Hinging on the Past Looking back at the hardware industry's beginnings can help you decide on appropriate replacements for your old house. Before the 1840s function, not fashion, dictated the design of architectural hardware. Simple porcelain knobs, hand-forged iron hinges, and heavy rim locks offered utility without flair. The most dressed up a knob might have gotten was a cloak of silver soldered or "sweated" onto brass. Innovative casting methods made possible by the Industrial Revolution enabled companies to mass-produce hardware at affordable prices. New technology allowed metals to be sand cast from molds, creating hundreds of pieces a day, instead of hand forged, which could only produce a dozen or so in the same time.

Along with advances in production came changes in fashion and attitudes. In Victorian America, tastes had shifted from the conservative to the elaborate for every aspect of the home, and builders' hardware was no exception. Bold house styles began popping up in the new "suburbia," and these large expressive Queen Annes, Italianates, and Second Empires needed hardware to complement their architecture. The concept of extending a building's general design into its details and fittings was fairly new at the time. Following this philosophy, many renowned architects began designing suites of hardware for their own buildings. Among them was Louis Sullivan, who designed hardware for his architectural masterpieces.

In 1869 the Metallic Compression Casting Company, a small Connecticut firm, was awarded its first design patents for decorative hardware, and by 1870 the company offered a full portfolio of decorative knobs. This innovation sparked several large hardware manufacturers, such as P. & F. Corbin, Yale and Towne, and Russell and Erwin, to follow suit. By 1872 Russell and Erwin had hired a "trained designer" to create fanciful patterns for its booming business. Artful Expression The ornamental inspiration for hardware designs came from every corner of the globe, as well as every period throughout history. The Byzantine Empire, Colonial America, 16th-century England, Amsterdam, ancient Egypt, and China were just a few periods and places tapped for their aesthetic sensibilities. Yale and Towne divided its hardware design categories into 24 "schools," and each school could have as many as 50 different decorative patterns. Names such as Lilbourn, Adams, Stratford, Brabant, and Osaka reflected the theme on the metal. In 1858 Japan opened up trade to the world after 250 years of isolation, and many Japanese motifs and symbols—Geisha girls, bamboo shoots, and chrysanthemums—were transferred onto knobs and hinges. America also looked to England's tastemakers for ideas. One well-respected talent was Christopher Dresser, today regarded as the first industrial designer. A pupil of Owen Jones (author of The Grammar of Ornament), Dresser designed hardware patterns for a host of Birmingham, England, foundries, and copies of his work soon infiltrated America.

The Real Deal Antique decorative hardware is still plentiful in the marketplace, but many quality pieces have become scarce or command high prices as collectibles at auction. (Remember the original doggie doorknob that sold for $4,000—reported in OHJ July/August 1998?) As with most materials, hardware was produced in different grades. In the late 1800s high-end decorative hardware was either cast in solid brass or bronze—bronze being the more popular material—while lower-end pieces were hollow cast iron with a veneer of bronze or brass. "Back then hollow cast-iron knobs would cost one fifth the price of a solid bronze knob," says Richard Perris of Crown City Hardware. "The materials were expensive and the labor was cheap—today it's just the opposite."

Perris admits it's tough to beat the quality of old hardware—even inferior pieces—but says to be sure to find the right match for your project. "You may come across a beautiful antique knob, but if it doesn't fit your door, you'll just have a pretty paperweight." Antique hardware can also be difficult to work with because you may not find all the parts you need—for instance, set screws, spindle, rosettes, and escutcheons for a complete door suite.

On the other hand, Liz Gordon of Liz's Antique Hardware in Los Angeles says, "A reproduction may be easier to work with, but it's still a reproduction—it doesn't possess the beauty of a vintage piece." For Gordon's clients, wear is part of the attraction. Gordon has in stock more than one million pieces of antique hardware dating from the Victorian era through 1950. On any given day she may have a P. & F. Corbin pressed iron "Holland" pattern knob circa 1905 selling for $38 or a cast brass knob in the 1905 "Racine" pattern by Russell and Erwin selling for $95. It might be easier to match reproduction pieces than antique, she says, but there's a greater variety of patterns seen in old hardware. When buying replacements for your house, buy the best quality you can afford for the public spaces—the front entryway, living room, dining room—while leaving the less expensive pieces for the bedroom, closets, and bathrooms.

History Repeating Itself They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and few industries take this concept to heart more than historical builders' hardware. Several companies are producing copies of these Victorian designs for today's market, allowing old-house owners to purchase matching window latches or several suites of door hardware rather than the one or two they might find through an antiques dealer. "Many professional installers prefer to work with reproduction pieces because antique hardware doesn't always conform to contemporary building codes or regulations concerning access for the disabled," writes Gordon in her book Decorative Hardware.

Several companies are reproducing suites of hardware from historical pattern books or right from original pieces to replace fittings that have been lost through gut rehabs or just plain wear and tear. E. R. Butler of New York City references more than 2,000 trade catalogs dating from the 18th and 19th centuries and works with Boston-based W.C. Vaugh (successor firm to four 19th-century Boston hardware manufacturers) to reproduce exquisite Georgian and Federal-style hardware as well as Victorian pieces. Owner Rhett Butler definitely gives a damn when it comes to reproducing hardware based on original shop drawings. All pieces are solid cast brass, bronze, or iron and all chasing (tooling) is done by hand. His father was a hardware restorer and installer, and that's where he got his first taste of the business. The company has 75 different patinas and a formula for prematurely aging hardware.

Peter Morenstein of Cirecast in San Francisco is known for his fanatical attention to detail when it comes to reproducing hardware. Making jewelry by the lost wax casting process back in San Francisco's hippie days, he discovered beautiful antique builder's hardware being ripped from the city's "painted ladies." Seeing these pieces as works of art, he began reproducing bronze, brass, and iron doorknobs using the same process. After years of perfecting his craft, Morenstein was awarded a job supplying hardware to the New York State Capital restoration project and from there the jobs came flooding in.

Cirecast has even reproduced hardware for the Victorian home of 19th-century hardware manufacturer Philip Corbin on Martha's Vineyard. The company's hardware line consists of suites based on original designs in production in the late 1800s. You'll find faithful representations such as the Asian-inspired "Ekado" door suite, originally patented in 1885 by the Sargent Lock Company of Pennsylvania.

Crown City Hardware in Pasadena, California—an antique itself—has been selling hardware since 1906 and offers a wide assortment of hardware produced in both the sand and the lost wax casting methods. "The type of casting will often dictate the quality of a piece," says Richard Perris. "We offer different grades from rough to superior so there are price points for every budget." A recent addition to the Crown City line is the Gothic design, popular from the late 1880s through the 1930s. The company also has restoration and refinishing services.

Ball and Ball in Exton, Pennsylvania, will reproduce almost any builders' hardware you send them. The Ball family also has a metalworking past, which goes back to ancestors who were silversmiths in 17th-century England. The company was established in 1932 by William Ball, and his sons Bob and Bill are continuing the tradition of creating hardware using the original sand-casting process. "Patterns are made directly from antique hardware pieces and not builders' hardware catalogs or shop books," says Bill Ball. The company's Web site also offers useful information on measurements and specs needed for ordering and installing hardware.

Finishing Touches Each company manufacturing reproductions of historical hardware offers dozens of finishes for both reproduction and antique pieces. By the late 1800s hardware was electroplated, which allowed different metals—copper, bronze, gold, brass, silver, and nickel finishes—to be applied to cast iron easily and inexpensively. Even 100 years ago hardware dealers knew the value of making something look old. In his 1904 Locks and Builders' Hardware, Linus Towne of Yale and Towne wrote, "Perhaps the greatest achievement in the treatment of bronze is the imitation, by chemical process, of the patina, which is the result in antiques of the slow [passing] of time." It was this "antique" finish that gave the hardware its personality back then just as it often does now. Today decorative hardware artisans are creating antique finishes in brass, bronze, nickel, and copper as well as high polished and satin finishes. "You may find several pieces of antique hardware in a single pattern, but because there were so many different manufacturers' finishes for Victorian hardware, the finishes on the pieces may vary greatly," explains Gordon. "If you want all the pieces to have the same finish, send them to a plating company or hardware company to have them plated in a finish of your choice."

Remember, builders' hardware allows movement within the house. Whether it's a hinge that swings a door, a pull that slides a drawer, or a crank that opens a window, function must exist along with decoration. So when choosing antique or reproduction Victorian hardware make sure it's not just a pretty face but will keep your house ticking along for years to come.

For more information on antique builders' hardware read Decorative Hardware by Liz Gordon and Terri Hartman.

Casting Call Sand Casting In the 1800s sand casting displaced more complex casting methods, and it was the most widely used method for creating builders' hardware during the Victorian era. Some manufacturers of reproduction hardware still rely on this process. A mold is made by packing sand around a wood model (called a pattern) carved in the design of the final casting. The mold is typically in two parts so the model can be easily removed, leaving a cavity into which the molten metal is poured. Lost Wax Casting A few companies today use lost wax casting, a method not typically employed for manufacturing in the late 1800s but an ancient art all the same. Lost wax casting affords the most detailed reproduction but is an intricate process. A successful casting starts with shaping a wax pattern—if the pattern isn't finely detailed it won't render a good piece. The wax pattern or model is next hand chased by a skilled artisan to ensure the level of detail.The second step is making the mold from the pattern by dipping the pattern into an "investment liquid"—this material can vary depending on the metal that will be molded (it is typically clay). The combination is placed in a kiln where the wax melts away—or is lost—and only the ceramic mold remains. This mold is then filled with molten metal to produce the hardware. Pressed Casting Pressed casting is a process in which the metal is pressed or stamped with a pattern. This method typically doesn't create fine detailing and is fairly inexpensive. In the late 1800s many pieces were produced this way, and today some companies still employ this technique.

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