Are these used in America and who first made them?
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Are these used in America and who first made them?
Yes, the name here is "night depository" but I can't help much with the history.
Well Hello That solid bronze fascia plate is heavy which does come off by the way Tom ,
This I expect you know, The one you show is of course a Chatwood Rotary (which goes with saying really) probably made in about the early 1930s possibly just before, the lock to open the trap is in the bottom right hand corner. One I remember has a yale spring bolt fitted and yes there are still some in sevice today though the use of the bank wallet deposit service has fallen into decline due to security companies calling at the retail shops.
As to other companies making a rotary trap both Chubb and Ratner have Im not sure if Tann ever produced one, I have probably forgotten; no doubt someone will correct me!
The earliest US patent I found doing a simple search for "night depository" on Google Patents was filed in 1925 (1,576,125).
In 1930 Chatwood introduced the first night safes, which were taken up by the Midland Bank, who eventually installed over 1,250 of them. Chatwood had a monopoly on these for two years before being copied by Chubb and then by other makers. No patent seems to have been granted though. Maybe the American patent, of just a few years previous, was not extended to the UK
I've run across this YEO plate on a couple Diebold night depository receiving chests I've worked on. Didn't get a pic of the outside head but if you zoom on the pic it is shown. This is the 1925 patent mentioned. Somewhere I have a pic of what is most likely an older nite drop with a small round door if I can only find it. Doug
Here it is and it was not older. A couple years later and by O B McClintock, which was a company better known for vault ventilators. They were later bought out by Diebold, I think. Doug
With no rotary tray, how did that work securely?
Here are two Chatwood's - one is similar to the earlier posting and the other is a different design -one opens upwards and the other downwards!!
I am guessing that the shiniest one doesnt have a lock and was put inside the banking hall while the other one was on the outside of the building (keyed alike with a Yale lock on a nozzled brass straight lock incorporating a roller on the end of the bolt) -maybe the shiniest one is the Midland Bank original version (original for Chatwood that is)