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A Dissertation on Locks and Lockpicking, and the Principles of Burglar Proofing…
Philadelphia: Linus Yale, Jr. & Co., 1857. 8vo (9” x 5.75”), self-wrappers. 39 pp., numerous b&w illus CONDITION: Very good, wrappers foxed, with 3” separation at lower spine. A rare edition of this illustrated guide to locks and safes, canvassing standard methods of lockpicking and promoting the “infallible” designs of celebrated locksmith and inventor Linus Yale, Jr., whose pioneering pin-tumbler design remains the global standard. The first of two chapters describes Linus Yale Jr.’s lock, bank door, and safe designs, and extends a “Challenge to the Public,” offering $3000 to anyone able to pick his “Magic Infallible Bank Lock. Conditions and procedures are outlined in detail and involved “A committee of five disinterested citizens” holding Yale’s reward and the hopeful lock-picker’s security deposit to prevent time-wasters and compensate for any damage to locks. The second, longer chapter comprises the “dissertation on locks, lock picking, and principles of security,” including a historical survey of locks, both before and since the “Great Exhibition in London” (1851), a review of lock-picking and burgling strategies (from wax molds and wooden keys to chloroforming guards), and additional descriptions of, as well as testimonials for, Yale’s locks and safes. The whole volume is thoroughly illustrated, showing vault doors, close-ups of “chilled iron” reinforcing the wrought iron mesh within each safe, and, of course, detailed diagrams of keys and lock mechanisms. Linus Yale Jr. (1821–1868) was born in Salisbury, New York, and had begun a career as a portrait painter before joining his father—also an inventor and mechanical engineer, with several patents to his name—in the lock business. His first patent was filed in 1855, for the “Yale Infallible Bank Lock,” and he was off and running, developing several more key-based bank locks, the first combination lock, and, by 1861, creating the first modern cylinder pin-tumbler lock, which, based on an ancient Egyptian design, is now the most widely-used lock mechanism. In 1868, Yale cofounded the Yale Lock Company with millionaire Henry R. Towne. Despite his death later that year, the company grew, employing more than 12,000 people by the early twentieth century. OCLC records just one holding of the 1857 edition, at the Huntington Library. A scarce and meticulously illustrated guide to locks and lockpicking by an influential American lock designer. REFERENCES: “Linus Yale Cylinder Lock” at Lemelson-MIT online; “Linus Yale, Jr.” at National Inventors Hall of Fame online.
Item #10228
Price: $750.00
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