Unknown safe - About to restore - Need help

[Siggi Palma]

Good evening everyone,

My name is Siggi and i´m from Iceland. I come to you as my google mind is about to burst.

What I have here is a safe I bought some days ago and for the life of me I have not been able to find any info on maker on name inside the door. I´m a coin dealer and I live for finding out information about coins and notes but as this is way off topic I do not have a next step to take.

I have sent out number of emails to persons I have managed to google and with only one reply from a very nice and from what he gathers from his friends in europe is that it´s a unknown safe " Uniqe " most likley made in France in the 1880´s - 1900´s and the name inside is a restripoutor
Now the name inside the door is Jar. Nielsen and Co copenhagen and that turns out nothing.

Maby i´m lucky and someone could know were I sould go next or if i´m real lucky has an idea were this might be from.

Here are some pictures of the safe. I will be restored to it´s original look as seen inside the door and I have found a masterpainter who is willing to take the job.

Siggi

[Siggi Palma]

Well 5 minutes after this I got all the information I need from a email and it seems to be correct.

Siggi

[Dean Nickel]

Would you please find your way into sharing? Now you have my curiosity.

[Siggi Palma]

Well it seems that the Name is JAC not JAR and stands for Jacop. Nielsen and co. It´s from the 1880´s - 1900´s but I have still not managed to find anything on maker.

I´m going in circles hehe :)

[Dean Nickel]

Before you do anything you might want to have a few words with a few of the members here that do that. I think you will find them to be a good resource in this type of work. Like taking the paint down to find out what the real colors and patern was. I think that safe has been repainted but without knowing how that manufacture painted there safes I don't know.

[Siggi Palma]

Thank you Halflock,

Everyone I have gotten response to seems to agree that the original paint should be the same as it is inside the door.

I see no undercolour and it seems it was stripped of all paint but the one inside the door.

But I would love to get some feedback from members here

[matty]

Hi,
Looks to me like there is fancy pin stripping on the panel close to the lion head? Also, I see an orange color on the inside of the top door, and on the outside of the bottom? Is that wood or steel?

Anyway, I have removed a few different types of paint, by guessing at the texture and the run on the front door, it looks like alkyd enamel, I think using heat for this type works? (plastic razor blade, from the automotive paint shop) or try in a small area with "spray gasket remover" but wipe it quickly with a damp cloth or sponge?

Try to follow all the safety precautions as the old safes have anyone knows what on them!
(discuss it with the person at an automotive paint store!)


Take care, that's a really cool safe!

[Tom Gordon]

They were also scale makers and I suspect that they just bought in the safe, put their name on it and sold it

Gamle fabriksvægt - Andet - GulogGratis.dk

[Siggi Palma]

Well the story has an edning :)

The company that made the safe is called Jacop. Nielsen in copenhagen. It´s one of the oldest companys in Denmark and not very well know as it disapeared in 1941 after their factory burned.

It is rare just by being Jac. Nielsen but it´s also rare as it´s the only one that the museum of copenhagen has seen with a Lion.

Inside the door is the original paint and it will be restored to that look this winter.

Siggi

[Tom Gordon]

Well the story has an edning :)

The company that made the safe is called Jacop. Nielsen in copenhagen. It´s one of the oldest companys in Denmark and not very well know as it disapeared in 1941 after their factory burned.
Siggi

But did they say that it was known as a safe manufacturer or as a safe seller? I have other lion escutcheons very like that, from the many european manufacturers of that period.