Keys - series 7 - 4

by Debbie Portwood

Title

Keys - series 7 - 4

Artist

Debbie Portwood

Medium

Photograph - Digital Art - Photography

Description

I found a big jar of keys left by my father-in-law after he passed. I think he must have saved the keys to every lock or car he ever owned. I think they are so interesting and I am now adding my keys to the collection. It has inspired me to photograph them in verious still life arrangements. I have created several versions so I hope you enjoy looking through them and I hope you find something you like and inspires you. These will look great on any wall of your home or workplace, or as any of the other amazing products sold on this site. Thanks so much for viewing! :D


WIKIPEDIA - A lock is a mechanical or electronic fastening device that is released by a physical object (such as a key, keycard, fingerprint, RFID card, security token, coin, etc.), by supplying secret information (such as a number or letter permutation or password), or by a combination thereof or only being able to be opened from one side such as a door chain.

A key is a device that is used to operate a lock (such as to lock or unlock it). A typical key is a small piece of metal consisting of two parts: the bit or blade, which slides into the keyway of the lock and distinguishes between different keys, and the bow, which is left protruding so that torque can be applied by the user. In its simplest implementation, a key operates one lock or set of locks that are keyed alike, a lock/key system where each similarly keyed lock requires the same, unique k
The key serves as a security token for access to the locked area; only persons having the correct key can open the lock and gain access. In more complex mechanical lock/key systems, two different keys, one of which is known as the master key, serve to open the lock. Common metals include brass, plated brass, nickel silver, and steel.

A lock is a mechanical or electronic fastening device that is released by a physical object (such as a key, keycard, fingerprint, RFID card, security token, coin, etc.), by supplying secret information (such as a number or letter permutation or password), or by a combination thereof or only being able to be opened from one side such as a door chain.

ANTIQUITY - The earliest known lock and key device was discovered in the ruins of Nineveh, the capital of ancient Assyria. Locks such as this were later developed into the Egyptian wooden pin lock, which consisted of a bolt, door fixture or attachment, and key. When the key was inserted, pins within the fixture were lifted out of drilled holes within the bolt, allowing it to move. When the key was removed, the pins fell part-way into the bolt, preventing movement.

The warded lock was also present from antiquity and remains the most recognizable lock and key design in the Western world. The first all-metal locks appeared between the years 870 and 900, and are attributed to the English craftsmen. It is also said that the key was invented by Theodorus of Samos in the 6th century BC.

'The Romans invented metal locks and keys and the system of security provided by wards.
Affluent Romans often kept their valuables in secure locked boxes within their households, and wore the keys as rings on their fingers. The practice had two benefits: It kept the key handy at all times, while signaling that the wearer was wealthy and important enough to have money and jewellery worth securing

A special type of lock, dating back to the 17th-18th century, although potentially older as similar locks date back to the 14th century, can e.g. be found in the Beguinage of the Belgian city Lier. These locks are most likely Gothic locks, that were decorated with foliage, often in a V-shape surrounding the keyhole. They are often called drunk man's lock, however the reference to being drunk may be erroneous as these locks were, according to certain sources, designed in such a way a person can still find the keyhole in the dark, although this might not be the case as the ornaments might have been purely aesthetic. In more recent times similar locks have been designed.

MODERN LOCKS - With the onset of the Industrial Revolution in the late 18th century and the concomitant development of precision engineering and component standardization, locks and keys were manufactured with increasing complexity and sophistication.

The lever tumbler lock, which uses a set of levers to prevent the bolt from moving in the lock, was invented by Robert Barron in 1778. His double acting lever lock required the lever to be lifted to a certain height by having a slot cut in the lever, so lifting the lever too far was as bad as not lifting the lever far enough. This type of lock is still used today.

The lever tumbler lock was greatly improved by Jeremiah Chubb in 1818. A burglary in Portsmouth Dockyard prompted the British Government to announce a competition to produce a lock that could be opened only with its own key. Chubb developed the Chubb detector lock, which incorporated an integral security feature that could frustrate unauthorized access attempts and would indicate to the lock's owner if it had been interfered with. Chubb was awarded £100 after a trained lock-picker failed to break the lock after 3 months.

In 1820, Jeremiah joined his brother Charles in starting their own lock company, Chubb. Chubb made various improvements to his lock: his 1824 improved design didn't require a special regulator key to reset the lock; by 1847 his keys used six levers rather than four; and he later introduced a disc that allowed the key to pass but narrowed the field of view, hiding the levers from anybody attempting to pick the lock. The Chubb brothers also received a patent for the first burglar-resisting safe and began production in 1835.

The designs of Barron and Chubb were based on the use of movable levers, but Joseph Bramah, a prolific inventor, developed an alternative method in 1784. His lock used a cylindrical key with precise notches along the surface; these moved the metal slides that impeded the turning of the bolt into an exact alignment, allowing the lock to open. The lock was at the limits of the precision manufacturing capabilities of the time and was said by its inventor to be unpickable. In the same year Bramah started the Bramah Locks company at 124 Piccadilly, and displayed the "Challenge Lock" in the window of his shop from 1790, challenging "...the artist who can make an instrument that will pick or open this lock" for the reward of £200. The challenge stood for over 67 years until, at the Great Exhibition of 1851, the American locksmith Alfred Charles Hobbs was able to open the lock and, following some argument about the circumstances under which he had opened it, was awarded the prize. Hobbs' attempt required some 51 hours, spread over 16 days.

The earliest patent for a double-acting pin tumbler lock was granted to American physician Abraham O. Stansbury in England in 1805, but the modern version, still in use today, was invented by American Linus Yale Sr. in 1848. This lock design used pins of varying lengths to prevent the lock from opening without the correct key. In 1861, Linus Yale Jr. was inspired by the original 1840s pin-tumbler lock designed by his father, thus inventing and patenting a smaller flat key with serrated edges as well as pins of varying lengths within the lock itself, the same design of the pin-tumbler lock which still remains in use today. The modern Yale lock is essentially a more developed version of the Egyptian lock.

Despite some improvement in key design since, the majority of locks today are still variants of the designs invented by Bramah, Chubb and Yale.
(Lots more information of this artical)

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July 28th, 2020

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