Artifact: Two brass gothic door lock assemblies Material: Brass Identification marks: Toulon 2850, 10th floor, and 17th floor, Patent dates include 1904 and 1905 Dim’s h/w/d: 12-3/4” x 3-1/2” Weight: 4# approx Origin: From a NYC commercial building ca 1910, possibly from 90 West Street. The back of the plate reads “Toulon 2850” and “L H Patented Apr 19 1904, Aug 20 1904, May 16, 1905 and others.” The style and age as well as one coming from the 17th floor strongly lean towards their having come from 90 West Street in Manhattan, it was erected and in the style at the same time frame as these locks having…
-
-
Artifact of the month (January 2020)
Circa 1903 roundel with a deep relief female portrait bust wearing long hair, a necklace and lace garment, laurel and oak leaves flank the figure, each element has a symbolic meaning and purpose. The laurel leaves symbolize victory while the oak leaves symbolize strength. So this female figure was associated with victory and strength. Terracotta 25″ across, purchased from an antique store on Bleecker Street in 2009 for $1350. The roundel, which was salvaged in the 1950s from the Lower East Side was probably from a tenement East of Avenue D when the city built the “Projects,” originally she likely had a separate border made of six sections.…
-
Artifact of the month (December, 2019)
Otis elevator call button The unassuming and dimunitive little Otis elevator call button was a simple but artistic design used for many years by Otis elevator Co., with their laurel wreath encircling their name emblazoned over a globe logo, and surrounded by a classical egg & dart molding. This particular artifact has only one button- the “up” button as it was originally located in the basement, not only was it located in a lowly, damp basement, but that basement happened to be the one that was under the 1867 Broadway Central Hotel (BCH) once located on several lots fronting 150 feet of Broadway with the main entrance at 673 Broadway,…
-
Artifact of the month (November, 2019)
Artifact: Two Large and two smaller acanthus leaves, parts of interior capitals Material: Cast iron Length: 20-1/2” , 13-1/2″ and 10-1/2″ Origin: St Bridget of Erin church, 1100 North Jefferson st. St Louis. Architect: John F Mitchell, St Louis, (Cornerstone laid on Aug 7th, 1859) Demolition of St. Bridget of Erin, one of the oldest churches in St. Louis, underway Feb 24, 2016 Coming down is St. Bridget of Erin, a stately brick church whose cornerstone was laid in 1859 and which for decades served St. Louis’ Kerry Patch Irish Catholics. Demolition of the church at the intersection of North Jefferson Avenue and Carr Street began this week. The…
-
Architectural Artifact of the month (October 2019)
Artifact: Keystone, lion with ring Material: Grey Terra Cotta Identification marks: 162. inscribed in clay on top Dim’s h/w/d: 22-1/2” x 14-3/5” x 10” Weight: 65# Origin: NYC tenement A number of buildings in NYC feature this Roman inspired lion with ring keystone design, both with the integrated top cornice shown and without. The keystones date to circa 1905. Lions depicted with rings in their mouth were popular back in the ancient Roman era and have been used in many different applications besides architectural keystones, such as drawer and cabinet pulls, carvings on furniture and soforth. This particular keystone is identical to a couple I salvaged in NYC in the 1970s/1980s,…
-
Architectural Artifact of the month (September 2019)
I have 8 salvaged bricks with paw prints embedded into them recently purchased that came from various demolitions in St Louis Mo! Each one of these has a story but we’ll not know what it is. One brick has a fawn deer hoof print and one has what appears to be a kitten’s prints, all were pressed into the moist clay before the clay dried and firmed up. A 9th brick has 3 prints in it; A 10th one that happened to come from St Louis too but in 2014; This one is the best, deepest impression, I found this one myself in 1977 at…
-
New acquisition: terracotta cornice lion, Boatman’s bank 1915 annex, St Louis MO
I purchased one of these cornice lions last week, it came from the 1915 annex of the Boatmans’ bank building, St Louis. 27″H 11″W 17″D, 130# The building was originally 7 stories high, but in 1920 they added 4 more floors on after removing the roof and cornice, and then either replacing the original cornice or re-installing it all. There were 69 lions that were scaled for a 7 story building, and when it was 11 stories they looked someone “small” scaled. The terracotta and the lions were made by the Winkle terracotta Company, St Louis Photo from 1883
-
Architectural Artifact of the month (August 2019)
I thought I would start a new feature here, each month I will feature and detail one artifact from my collection. Artifact: Corinthian Capital Material: Cast iron Identification marks: J.L. Jackson New York (foundry) Dim’s h/w/d: 11” x 18-1/2” Weight: 40# The 1850 U. S. Census recorded James L. Jackson, Iron Foundry as having invested $32,000 in capital, and owning materials consisting of 1200 tons of pig iron and 500 tons of coal valued at a combined total of $24,600. The foundry employed an average of 95 workman and paid average monthly wages of $3700. The annual product consisted of 500 tons of “grate castings” worth $50,000 and 500 tons of…