Please help I.D. this safe.

[Doug MacQueen]

Yours is the same safe posted sometime earlier by Tom Gordon isn't it? I thought something seemed familiar. Similarities among these early Cincy safes is not co-incidental. Several of the employees moved from from one company to the next. And then you have Hall and Dodds (MacNeale Urban) as partners for a while as well as Bahmann and Mosler were earlier with Diebold. Yours is a typical business safe for fire and giving some burglary protection, unlikely used in a bank. If I find a painted safe I will post it Doug

[matty]

Hi,
I have only posted this safe at one other site, it would only allow one picture to be posted, that was some time ago. (and I got no response on it)

I have never seen one like this, after you said Diebold-Brahman I found one that a guy posted on another forum that looks like it has the same hardware for the inner doors?
(but it is a newer model, the outside is totally different)

I have spent a lot of time reading about safes an trying to find a pic of one like this...This one came from a gun dealer in the San Francisco area, around 1940 to 1970?

Thanks for the history of the safe builders names, now I am starting to understand?

I have mostly dealt with automobiles, and they always seem to have a make, model, and year...

I agree about the strong box type of thing too, and a key would allow faster access, to retrieve personal paperwork, and not money or gold? maybe that is why all our corners of the doors are broken? I was thinking that somewhere along the line some kids were repeatedly slamming the doors just playing around with it?

Thanks in advance again if you could post a pic of one like this!!!

Matt.

[matty]

Hi,
I seen the other posting in the lock section, like I said previously, I was taking care of my Dad from last December till around August, I sent a few pics around during that time?(I really don't remember much)

That pic is from when I had the lock disassembled to make a key for it, I will take it apart again and post better pics. but from reading the other thread, they seem to be thinking of England maker too?

All the lock and bolt mechanism looks very crude, but it all moves very smoothly, all the parts to it have been marked with four center punch dots, (cylinder, lock ring halves, bolt, and the main body?)


Thanks again!
Matt.

[Doug MacQueen]

Matty does this cast trim look the same as yours. This safe also uses a Bramah type lock on the outer door and it as yet is still in my "unknown" files of safe pictures. Doug

[matty]

Yours has leafing on the door panels as well!!! The acorns are shorter? Another thing, what is the T handle length? I have noticed that all the ones I've seen that are close to mine have longer T handles?

Inner door pics?

So, it's still unknown to you, what that thing is? At the beginning of production, I guess it wasn't like they could just grab their kodak and snap a few for the scrap books....
(that's why I asked about hotels or what other line of historical places where a safe like this could be in the background pic.(where it would have been preserved))


So, it's ones like these that could have survived the fires, that gave Diebold such a good reputation? (mine was in at least one fire, the doors were off, left one lying with the inside flat on the ground, that's what preserved the paintings on the back panel of that door)

Many Thanks Doug!
Matt.

[Doug MacQueen]

Matty does the leafing look exactly the same? This one isnt mine. It has a round pull knob not a T handle. Doug

[matty]

It sure does to me, like an oak leaf? I didn't find any silver so I sprayed that corner of mine with sand stone? Looks like the one in your pic has been blasted? It seems the attaching screw is visible? On mine the screws are barely visible from being filled in by paint.


Thanks again,
Matt.

[Doug MacQueen]

And the unusual ring on the hinge cap is also on both safes. I think there they are the same maker but I guess that doesn't help much at this point huh? Doug

[Doug MacQueen]

Two more Bramah locks found on safes that I have to make keys for. One is the inner door of a MacNeale Urban and the other is another unknown. I have found more safes with the leaf castings but the safes are totally different than yours. It is possible that a foundry sold this stuff to different safe companies Doug

[matty]

Thanks Doug!

I have been very busy, I was thinking of taking the lock apart again and posting pictures of the slides(or blades?) inside the lock, they look different than others I've seen? maybe that might mean something, or someone might want the pics for the future for some reason?

I have seen a few of the double door Moslers that are almost the same, except the rope trim, and the flat doors...

I'll just put these pics here again for comparison, mine has the L shape bolt, the main difference.

and another pic I found of a paneled safe?

Thanks again,
Matt.