Museums for Locksmiths

Another museum for locksmiths and lock enthusiasts is the Lock Museum that is located in Willowhall, Staffordshire. This museum has been taken over by the Black Country Living Museum in an effort to secure its future. In an effort to preserve the contents and the relevance to history in general, the Black Country Living Museum took an interest in the Lock Museum.

Blake's Lock Museum can be seen in the United Kingdom. California offers the Jehning Family Lock Museum, located in Mountain View. Paris, France is home to the Hotel Liberal Bruand. The Hanns Schell Collection is the world's largest museum of locks and keys. It's located in Austria. Locksmiths should also enjoy the metal locks and keys at the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum Shop in Key West, Florida. There's a Powerhouse Museum located in Sydney, Australia.

Doorknobs are collector's items and are a part of a locksmith's work. There's a club called the Antique Doorknob Collectors of America. The interesting items in this club also include antique door hardware and extend to plates, doorbells, coat hooks, and window latches. There are beautiful doorknobs on display in the club's collection.

The Antique Doorknob Collectors of America holds yearly conventions all over the country to learn and share their information. The club has a wonderful collection of Bennington knobs, mineral knobs, real estate hardware, and a group they call Fabulous Doorknobs-this group is made up of Victorian hardware, bronze knobs, and Wheeler knobs.

Donald Jackson offers an impressive Roman gallery of locks, keys, and seal boxes that shows an interesting collection of security hardware of used locksmith tools. He displays an impressive image from a locksmith's grave stone showing Roman locksmiths at work. Mr. Jackson writes an informative, detailed article on ancient locks, collecting, and fabrication.

West Coast Lock Collectors Association explores the history and ingenuity of locks and used locksmith tools. They have an annual lock show to thrill collectors and capture the interest of the public. Their table fees are $35 to anyone who is interested in adding their own collection to the event. They send out a quarterly publication to association members. This association is a hobby club that puts any income back into the company for operating expenses.

Antique Padlocks offer internet viewing to provide a look into padlocks of eight different varieties as well as helpful links, patent information, and hardware companies who have marketed padlocks. As thieves became more determined, padlocks did lose some value because they could be cut with bolt cutters. There are still many around today, and there are still requests for locksmiths to remove them. They are sure to remain a part of museums as the years move forward.