where is this from?

[Doug MacQueen]

Thanks Brian, but probably not all that helpful I have done some searching around and found 3 Northern Italian 1600's locks in an Italian auction website. One of the things that I find very interesting is the artistic spring designs used in many pre-1800's locks. With the "crab Lock" style, the very simple and effective design of a partial ring makes it easy to make. But were these springs made of wrought iron? Also in looking again at Peters lock, the plain jane case design itself makes me think it may have actually been a much later copy of this style lock, possibly even from the 1800's. Doug

[ptross]

Doug,
it may not have been quite clear, but in my earlier post I explained that the photo I posted shows a very good copy of an archaeological find; quite precisely dated to 1610 at Jamestown, VA, USA. One of the earliest English settlements in the US. The artifact survived in remarkable shape and it was simple to make a good reproduction with very little guesswork.
as to whether the springs were wrought iron- I don't know if that question has been answered and have been unwilling to do any destructive testing on the locks in my collection. I have made a reproduction using wrought iron, but wasn't able to get the spring to work properly. However, my lack of success doesn't rule out the use of wrought iron in better hands.
Peter