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  1. #1
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    Default George Price doors

    Anybody ever worked on one of the Price doors with the lock in the door frame? I did once. I wondered if anybody has any pictures or literature etc.

    Were George Price and manufacturer Cyrus Price related?

  2. #2
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    Someone asked for pictures of the free standing 20th Century safes not that long ago and I posted this, which is all I have- not one I saw or worked on but the only example my dad encountered back in the 1960s
    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	George Price 20th Century.jpg 
Views:	26 
Size:	117.1 KB 
ID:	13208
    Never seen one to this day, but used to encounter dozens of their safes and SRDs with the Ne Plus Ultra locks, so can only guess these were a very rare breed.

  3. #3
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    That's the boy. I could never understand why they made the locking bar to slide up to lock. If it had gone downwards it would have formed its own AED, I suppose there must have been a reason. They knew what they were doing!

    I had to take the whole action out of a big SRD once. The very next job was installing a floor safe so I broke the bolts up and put them into the concrete.

  4. #4
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    I do have the lock off of one and have posted a picture of another safe with great transfer on it, elsewhere on here. The big deal was that you could return and remove the key but the safe didnt lock until you turned the handle.

  5. #5
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    What is a ne plus ultra lock?

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chubby View Post
    What is a ne plus ultra lock?
    Loads on them in this thread:

    http://www.antique-locks.com/showthr...ighlight=ultra

  7. #7
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    Country: UK

    Unhappy Georgr Price strongroom doors

    Quote Originally Posted by Huw Eastwood View Post
    Someone asked for pictures of the free standing 20th Century safes not that long ago and I posted this, which is all I have- not one I saw or worked on but the only example my dad encountered back in the 1960s
    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	George Price 20th Century.jpg 
Views:	26 
Size:	117.1 KB 
ID:	13208
    Never seen one to this day, but used to encounter dozens of their safes and SRDs with the Ne Plus Ultra locks, so can only guess these were a very rare breed.
    Milner bought vacant land next to Price's Cleveland Safe Works, blocking any expansion of Price's factory. Hence Price had to concentrate on SRD rather than free-standing safes, which are not that common. And so many old safes were scrapped in 1960s-70s, not being resistant to modern explosive or flame-cutting torches. Scrapyards had mountains of them, as did many quarries around large towns :-( .
    Last edited by chubbbramah; 16-02-24 at 05:37 PM.

  8. #8
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    Country: UK

    Default PRICE, George and Cyrus

    George and Cyrus Price were related, I think cousins. George aimed to be top security, and patented the case-hardened body, which which in the days of breast drill with spade bits was very difficult to drill.
    Cyrus was more down-market. George disclaimed any association with any other company of a similar name.
    Cyrus Price company survived, eventually becoming part of the ancestry of the Insafe Group.
    George Price company was taken over by Gibbons, and eventually by Milner — supreme irony!

  9. #9
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    Country: Great Britain

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    the cyrus price stuff I saw was garbage compared to the G price stuff

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by chubbbramah View Post
    ...Hence Price had to concentrate on SRD rather than free-standing safes, which are not that common.
    Their 20th Century safes are definitely rare but we certainly saw plenty of George price safes and some of their doors on site.
    Not common as you say, but even the likes of Chubb, Tann or Hobb's weren't anywhere near as abundant as the generic tat like Sam Withers or Cartwright.


    Quote Originally Posted by chubbbramah View Post
    And so many old safes were scrapped in 1960s-70s, not being resistant to modern explosive or flame-cutting torches. Scrapyards had mountains of them, as did many quarries around large towns :-( .
    From my understanding there was still plenty of the old stuff in use back then- and plenty of demand for them- my father always had a steady turnover of old safes throughout the 1960s and 70s.

    Back then most small businesses weren't high enough risk to be concerned by explosives or oxy-acetylene attack, so continued using whatever they had.
    Generally only the higher risk businesses had the torch, drill and explosive resistant stuff like banks, building societies, larger supermarkets, jewellers etc.

    Chubb's brochures aimed at businesses often used scare tactics portraying successful attacks on low grade old safes in widespread use, but realistically most small businesses didn't need anything with such severe protection.

    One exception that does spring to mind though- auto repair garages. Low risk, low attraction as little cash incentive but occasionally a safe would be attacked with their own oxy-acetylene gear that was often sited only yards away..!


    Also remember my father telling us many times, that the post office's only main requirements for a small sub office safe back in the 1960s were size and price!
    They'd turn up armed with only a tape measure and be prepared to take virtually anything provided it fitted the space and was cheap. They'd often get miffed when he insisted or suggested they'd need something far better or heavier!


    That was only the small sub offices mind, obviously the larger branches and crown offices had the heavy Bates and Steven Cox stuff.
    By the 80s when I was doing PO work it was very different,and even some of the tiny sub offices had Grade1A's if the risk was deemed high enough.


    Having worked all over South Wales on thousands of the old safes that were still giving good service throughout the 80s, 90s and 2000s, I only wish I'd got to see more rarities like a progress g hobb's or a chatwood diamond... :-)


    I hate to think how much prized antique and top end stuff must've got scrapped when the euro gradings came in. Even the best of the best didn't meet the criteria so for businesses ruled by their insurers the safes were made redundant virtually overnight :-(

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