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Vincent J. M. Eras

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Locks and Keys throughout the Ages: Hardcover – September 10, 2019

by Vincent Eras (Author)

4.8 24 ratings

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Locks and Keys throughout the Agesis widely considered the best book ever written on the history of locks. It is illustrated throughout with photos from the extensive Lips’ Collection.It was written in 1957 by Vincent J.M. Eras, the director of one of the most respected and important lock manufacturing companies in the world at that time - the Lips’ Safe and Lock Manufacturing Company(now part of the Assa Abloy Group, along with Yale, Chubb, and many others).The author was not only a master locksmith who developed several important patents but he was also an avid collector and was passionate about the history and development of locking mechanisms. His extensive knowledge of the field comes across on every page. In fact, Eras had been in the lock manufacturing business for 58 years before he wrote this book. In the preface he states:“I consider it a gratifying task to place on record my experiences and through this book save them from oblivion. At the same time an excellent opportunity is presented to show the reader my collection of antique and modern locks – the tangible result of more than 50 years travelling, searching and study in many countries”.In over 280 black-and-white photos and drawings Vincent Eras brings us on a grand tour of the development of locks from pre-historic to modern times and he also explains to us, in words and illustrations, how their mechanisms work.This is a high-quality hardcover reprint of the 1957 edition of the book, done by special arrangement with ASSA ABLOY. The typeface has been completely re-done and the photographs have been corrected using the latest digital correction technology. The quality of the photos is equal to and, in many cases, better than the original 1957 edition. A reprint of this book was done in the UK in the 1970s but the quality was poor.Artisan Ideas is very glad to be able to make this exceptional book available to the public again.

Review

"Great history and a good read."

--Mark Kochan "The Anvil's Ring (official magazine of ABANA, the Artist-Blacksmith's Association of North America)"

"I am asked many lock questions in the course of a year. The most common one is: 'where can I learn more about locks and keys?'. This book is what I recommend to collectors to go to first. I personally feel all lock and key collectors should have this book. It contains a mixture of European and American locks and keys across time. It includes lock mechanisms too. This is a quality book in every way; an impressive work"

--Robert Dix "Journal of Lock Collecting"

"There are less than a dozen good informative books on locks and keys in the world. Many are long out of print. Luckily this is one of the best and is now back in print after a 45 year absence. If you have an interest in locksmithing, locks and keys or physical security history you should get your copy now.

The images in this new edition have all been digitally enhanced and most have been printed larger than in the original edition making it easier to see details in the images. There was a time when locksmithing was more about the high art of beautiful design and decoration than security. Artisans in Munich and Paris tried to outdo each other to be known as the finest lock makers without advancing the functionality of locks. This remained the same until the late 1700's when it became popular sport for locksmiths to make new designs and challange all commers (crooks and locksmiths alike) to pick their locks. Lock technology leapt forward rapidly until the modern time lock was invented.

Locks and Keys Throughout the Ages follows this history of locks from the simplest wooden devices until modern combination and time locks. Locks and Keys Throughout the Ages includes photos of some of the rarest early locks found in any collection through photos and diagrams of modern vaults. Locks of every kind from every age (up to 1957) are represented. The book includes many diagrams of lock and key types and use. The history of locks and keys is well written in this volume and is the source of many later histories of locks and keys.

The author, Vincent J.M. Eras was a certified Master Locksmith working for the world enowned LIPS lock company (now ASSA ABLOY). He had unequaled access to the Lips lock collection as well as other private and European museum collections to research and illustrate this book.

--Jock Dempsey "AnvilFire.com"

Print length

186 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Artisan Ideas
Publication date

September 10, 2019
Dimensions

7.68 x 0.65 x 10.29 inches
ISBN-10

0997979860
ISBN-13

978-0997979862
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Artisan Ideas; Revised edition (September 10, 2019)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 186 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0997979860
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0997979862
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.64 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.68 x 0.65 x 10.29 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #999,753 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #140 in Historic Architectural Preservation
- #5,111 in Antiques & Collectibles (Books)
- #35,147 in Crafts & Hobbies (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.8 24 ratings

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Vincent J. M. Eras

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4.8 out of 5

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Paul H.

Reprint

Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2021

Verified Purchase

As a locksmith I always looking to add to my library. It’s a reprint from the 1800. Awesome!

Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2020

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My dad wanted this book, so I got it for him. He couldn’t have been happier with it.

One person found this helpful

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Michael Surbrook

Reprint from 1951

Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2020

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This is a reprint of a book from 1951 showing the history of locks and keys from antiquity to the modern era. While the book is fairly helpful, I'd have liked a few more diagrams, as some of these locks get very complex and I am still not sure how they work. That said, it has been a valuable resource when it comes to developing content for my RPG products.

2 people found this helpful

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Sarah Munts

Wonderful Book!

Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2020

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This made for a wonderful gift! I know the reader is enjoying it!

One person found this helpful

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Nikolousc

Awesome book!

Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2020

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Awesome book, lots of history.

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Benjamin Espen

A fine work of the mechanical craft of making locks, and beautifully illustrated as well

Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2019

This isn’t my first introduction to the classic volume, Locks and Keys Throughout the Ages. The master locksmith who ran the university lockshop in which I worked as a student had a copy of this book, and it was a joy to re-acquaint myself with Vincent Eras’ beautifully illustrated work thanks to LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers program. Even if you don’t have a fascination with locks and their construction, the many photographs and illustrations, digitally restored in this new edition by Artisan Ideas, are worth the price of admission.

The book is divided into three main sections: the historical development of locks, modern [mid-twentieth century] lock technology, and high security locks for safes and strongroom doors.

The Historical Development of Locks
Keyed locks are a remarkably old human technology, with references in ancient literature as well as archaeological finds attesting to their antiquity. Keys have tended to last better than the more complicated lock mechanisms, but what we can find suggests that the Romans at least had warded keys similar to what nineteenth century Europe used. I didn’t see any references to such in a casual search online, but the use of X-ray analysis on the Antikythera Mechanism implies both that the Greeks and Romans had the capability to manufacture more complicated machines than we usually attribute to them, and that we might tease out some secrets of the few Roman locks we have via this method.

Modern Lock Technology
The section on modern lock technology covers from the 18th century onwards, when significant improvements on the Roman era warded lock began to be marketed. Based on the text, there was a push in the form of increased accuracy in machined parts, which enabled greater precision in design and assembly, and a pull in the form of increased success by burglars against the older style warded locks. The descriptions and diagrams provided are a treat, and you can clearly see how the locks in common use today are developments of the technology discussed here.

There is a brief digression into the fascinating combinatorial mathematics behind modern locks. There is more to be said on the subject, but the presentation is quite good. This is clearly an area where practice preceded theory, where inventors simply discerned a pattern that would be useful, and someone came in later and formalized it.

In a fascinating divergence from today, the author steadfastly refuses to discuss lockpicking techniques in any detail, despite admitting that all lock designers and locksmiths practice the art. I suspect part of the reason is that today lockpicking is hardly ever the means a burglar gains egress to a target. Other means are easier and more successful, such as simply throwing a rock through a window, so the danger from lockpicking tutorials on YouTube is probably minimal.

High security locks for safes and strongroom doors
The final section contains the most material outside of my own experience. There simply weren’t any safe deposit boxes at the university were I worked. The description of the changeable safe deposit box mechanism contained here is a masterpiece, integrating mechanism with a sequence of steps intended to mitigate risk and reduce fraud and theft. While not directly related to public key cryptography, this kind of technology serves the same purpose: ensuring everyone involved can trust everyone else by eliminating opportunities for dishonesty.

A fine work of the mechanical craft of making locks, and beautifully illustrated as well. Absolutely recommended.

2 people found this helpful

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Zechariah Stover

Historical book on locks and keys.

Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2020

An amazing work going over the history of locks from all over the world. Tons of pictures of historic pieces, both decorative and functional. Certainly some amazing pieces of work shown. A whole section of terminology to make it easier to understand the book and descriptions. The section on lock picking is very brief. I would have loved to have it go into more details about the security and flaws of different types of locks. Although most locks shown are key type, it also does look at a few combination types locks. Most of these being from safes and lockboxes. Overall a very enjoyable read on the history of locks around the world.

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Bud Ward

Exactly what the title suggests

Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2020

Concise text accompanied by beautiful photographs and illustrations.

One person found this helpful

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