Solomon Andrews 1841 Snail Wheel Lock

In another post regarding a Lillie safe and lock, I mention that a mistaken ID of a Lillie lock is found in "American Genius", pages 46 and47. Here is the Feb 12, 1841 patent No. 1,977, of the Andrews "Snailwheel" lock discussed in the book. Note it was also made in a padlock version. I am sure the authors of the book will forgive me for pointing this out. I hope my mistakes are pointed out as well. You can see how this early wheeled keylock with its pendulum swing fence contributes into the evolution of the combination lock. Unfortunately I haven't seen one these yet. Doug

Often with the early lock patents there is the question of whether it was actually manufactured. In some cases, it is just a matter of so few of them were made. I found this info recently that helps to explain the rarity of this model Andrews lock. Doug