Van Dorn Iron Works Co. Jail Architects and Manufacturers. Form 51.

Cleveland, Ohio: Van Dorn Iron Works Co., [ca. 1890]. 4to (11.5” x 9”), printed wrappers. 12 pp., illus. Small back wrapper ms. inscription, “10/3-1894.”.

A scarce catalogue issued by one of the world’s largest manufacturers of jail cells.

Touting their improvements in the way of locking devices, ventilation, sanitary arrangements, etc., Van Dorn also claim to have the strongest, as well as the neatest, most convenient and best ventilated cage currently in use.

Depicted in both floor plans and other illustrations are designs for cages, gratings, doors, cell furnishings and fixtures, window guards, and an “Odorless Bucket.” The company offers “a full supply of Jail Fixtures, consisting of odorless night soil buckets, water closets, slop and wash sinks, bunks (iron and canvas), and iron bedsteads.” One interesting illustration shows a horizontal cross-section of two floors of jail-cells, featuring a prisoner and a guard. Also included are numerous testimonials, a list of jail contracts awarded in 1893, contracts awarded in 1892, and a partial list of other jails the company erected. One illustration depicts a Police Station in Cleveland—for which the company furnished all iron and steel work. The front and back wrappers feature a Van Dorn jail-cell with prison guard and attractive illustrations of other Van Dorn products.

Producing a number of products such as ornamental iron, metal office furniture, structural steel, and automobile parts, by the 1910s Van Dorn Iron Works (est. 1872) became best known for its jail cells. The company manufactured nearly 28,000 cells between 1918 and 1938, selling them throughout America and abroad.

No records in OCLC. An earlier 1883 Van Dorn Iron Works catalog held by the Winterthur Museum is numbered “Catalogue No. 50." The present copy is numbered 51 at the front-cover.

REFERENCES: Spencer, Paul. Van Dorn Iron Works. Cleveland Historical at clevelandhistorical.org

CONDITION: Good, very light wear and chipping at self-wrappers’ margins, p. 8 some fading ot the text but still legible.