Written by Mikenna Richardson on behalf of the Orillia Museum of Art & History (OMAH)
There is a funny thing about history. We go about our daily lives without considering the legacy inanimate objects leave. For example, how many doors have you walked through today? How many handles have you turned? If you live in an old home, how many people have crossed the threshold since it was built? I’m confident you did not consider the history of doorknobs.
Historically, most buildings were constructed with few rooms, unless you were wealthy. Doorways weren’t necessarily always closed off; only some were able to afford hinged doors. Otherwise, most doorways would have been covered with cloth or animal hides. As construction advanced and it became common for buildings to have numerous rooms, doors became more popular and were often secured with a latch. For example, the oldest door in Britain, located in Westminster Abbey, has been dated to the 1050s and has a sliding bolt and long hinges but no lock or handle.
Quickly advancing technology allowed for internal locking mechanisms to be installed in palaces across Europe from the 1500s. Despite the clear existence of locks and doorknobs, the first combined locking system wasn’t recorded until 1878, when Osbourn Dorsey patented his invention. From then on, locking handle mechanisms grew in popularity and the lone deadlock was reserved for more serious matters.
In the OMAH collection, we have an internal lock and handle mechanism, created by the National Hardware company sometime in the first half of the 20th century. This item was installed in an Orillia home and donated to OMAH in 2006 by Marcel Rousseau. On the upper left side of the item is the receptacle for the handle to be installed, and there is a keyhole below it to unlock the door.
Next week, we will feature another object from the OMAH collection that showcases our local history.