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The Guy Zani, Jr. Safe Collection – Provenance Note Morphy 3-30-2013

hcst — Wed, 06 Nov 2019 13:31:21 +0000

The Guy Zani, Jr. Safe Collection

Guy Zani Jr has found a “safe harbor” at Morphy Auctions, where his remarkable collection of more than 80 rare antique safes will be auctioned on Saturday, March 30, 2013. Zani’s 25-year quest to amass the finest and most elusive models resulted in a premier collection that includes such coveted examples as salesman’s samples, mini cannonballs, Hobnails, money chests, safes in wood cabinets, small personal safes, and coveted brothel/boudoir and pedestal parlor safes. Several of the safes have never before been seen in public or offered at public auction.

Now retired from the business and financial sector, Zani’s fascination with safes began during childhood, when his mother gave him a toy safe in which to save his pennies.

“The combination dial intrigued me, and I kept the bank for quite a while,” Zani recalled. “As I got older, I started to collect toy cast-iron safe banks. Then I graduated to full-size cast-iron antique safes. It’s definitely true what they say, that as men grow older, the only difference between men and boys is the size of their toys. I had a collection of Corvettes that was featured in the New York Times, but I bought my last Corvette six or seven years ago and decided to devote all of my time to the safes.”

Many of Zani’s leads came through a website he maintains which draws 7,000 visitors per month. Zani said he is often sent images of safes and asked if he wants to purchase them. In other cases, his widely acknowledged expertise prompts requests to evaluate safes.
“The enquiries come from collectors all over the world,” said Zani. “There’s an active safe collectors club in England, and I understand they’re chipping in to buy a copy of the March 30th auction catalog, which documents my collection.”

Zani’s collection includes two extraordinarily rare Hobnail safes – one full size; the other a salesman’s sample. The Hobnail’s production era in the United States was from 1824 until about 1840. The Zani collection includes an example of the 1830 Rogers Hobnail Safe, predecessor to the first combination-lock safe ever made; and the oldest known salesman’s sample safe in existence – an 1826 hobnail safe attributed to Jesse Delano & Sons, New York.

“Even the John M. Mossman Lock Museum, which has locks, keys and tools dating as far back as 4,000 BC, didn’t know there was a surviving example of the Rogers Hobnail safe. Their collection includes a Rogers Hobnail lock, but not an actual safe,” Zani said.

“In the 1830s the US Patent Office in Washington burned to the ground, and a large section of all existing patents was destroyed,” Zani continued. “If you had a patent that was filed prior to the fire, like the patent for the Rogers Hobnail safe, it could cause a real problem.”

Zani explained that, in an effort to re-establish the patents, the US Government appealed to England’s patent office, with which the United States had a reciprocity agreement. As a standard practice, each office provided the other with a copy of each approved patent, so many of the destroyed patents eventually were retrieved – but not the patent for the Rogers Hobnail safe.

“And that’s what makes the safe in my collection especially desirable. When Rogers produced the safe, they embossed the words ‘Rogers Patent’ inside it. That’s the best provenance of all,” Zani said.

Unraveling the mystery behind the mechanisms inside old safes is not unlike pursuing the secrets behind famous magicians’ illusions. “Recently I bought a safe from a person in Italy. He included a note that said, ‘When you get the safe, please e-mail me and I will tell you a special procedure to open the safe.’ I already had an Italian safe with trick locks, so I figured out how to open it. It was a challenge,” Zani said.

Eight or nine of the safes in Zani’s collection are difficult to value because there are few auction comparables against which to draw comparison. In particular, Zani expects keen interest to be shown in his 1905 Victor salesman’s sample cannonball safe, so named because it is round rather than square. His Victor has a screw-lock door with a working time lock and is the only known example.

Cannonball salesman’s samples are considered the ultimate acquisition to antique safe collectors. In 2011 a Mosler salesman’s sample cannonball safe in a box was put up for public auction. Zani said the Mosler company made 11 cannonball samples, which were designed to expose the internal locking mechanisms in a cross-section view. Constructed on two wheels, the safe was manufactured in a box with a drop front. Only eight of the original 11 samples are known to exist today.

“I have owned five of the eight Mosler cannonball samples at one time or another, and I know where all eight are. The eighth one appeared at auction in 2011 and created quite a buzz. It sold for $35,000 and set a world record for a salesman’s sample safe.” Zani believes that because his Victor salesman’s sample is “one of one” and not a cutaway, but rather a complete freestanding safe with four wheels, it should break the current record.

Four Marvin mini cannonball safes are entered in the sale. Marvin made these safes in three sizes, 650 lbs, 1,300 lbs and 2,000 lbs. All sizes are represented in the auction, with the 2,000-lb size representing the only known example. All are fully restored with attractive original graphics and paperwork from the manufacturer. Additionally, there is an example of the 1899 York mini cannonball safe, the smallest of all cannonball types, excluding replicas and salesman’s samples. It is only 16 inches tall, weighs 450 lbs and is considered quite special because it is the only cannonball safe to feature a dual-key lock mechanism.

A bona-fide work of art, Zani’s 750-lb Herring parlor safe came from the atrium of a fine house in St. Louis. Painted in an elegant floral and foliage design on all surfaces plus its cabriole pedestal, the safe is attractive from all angles. “Not only is it beautiful, it’s also extremely rare,” said Zani. “No one has seen one like this at auction before, so I have no idea what it will bring, price wise.”
Among the many other highlights included in the March 30, 2013 auction of Guy Zani Jr’s collection are:

1801 Italian Secretaire Habitante with internal hidden safe, three keys

“The Twins” – 1870 Herring Safe Co. ladies’ jewelry safes

1834 Milnor and Shaw Cathedral safe; door has stained-glass motif

1858 Sharts and Bedell safe with white porcelain knob; only known example

1868 Derby salesman’s sample with one of a kind Johnson & Thompson Permutation Stem combination lock

1890s Rouse & Co. Diamond Trade Show display model

Information courtesy of Morphy Auctions, March 2013.

Battleship Maine – Spanish American War

hcst — Mon, 22 Jun 2015 22:56:23 +0000

The Battleship Maine

Construction of the U.S.S. Maine was authorized in August of 1886, and she was launched in 1889 and commissioned in 1895. After several years spent patrolling the East Coast and Caribbean, orders sent the Maine and her crew to Cuba in response to continued civil unrest on the island.

The photograph above is a 1896 image of the ship framed in a sheet iron frame made from remnants of the ship. (p4A item # D9839717)

Three weeks later, on the morning of February 15, 1898, the battleship Maine lay in Havana harbor. Just after the playing of Taps, Captain Charles Sigsbee recalls, “I laid down my pen and listened to the notes of the bugle, which were singularly beautiful in the oppressive stillness of the night. . . . I was enclosing my letter in its envelope when the explosion came. It was a bursting, rending, and crashing roar of immense volume, largely metallic in character. It was followed by heavy, ominous metallic sounds. There was a trembling and lurching motion of the vessel, a list to port. The electric lights went out. Then there was intense blackness and smoke.”

Later investigations determined that the ship’s powder stores detonated, ripping off the forward third of the ship. Such a significant breach caused the ship to sink rapidly, but tragedy occurred almost instantly for the many enlisted men sleeping in the forward section of the Maine. Most of the Maine’s crew died instantly, with 266 men killed in the explosion and another 8 men dying later from injuries. Officers, who were quartered in the rear of the ship, fared better, with 18 officers among the Maine’s 89 survivors. Most of the dead were recovered from Havana’s harbor and were buried in Havana, but almost two years later, in December of 1899, the bodies were disinterred and reburied in Arlington National Cemetery.

The explosion brought about the “Remember the Maine!” battle cry and helped precipitate the start of the Spanish-American War in April of 1898, but numerous investigations, both in the period and years later, have attributed the cause to one of two accidental causes. One theory is that a external mine in the harbor detonated, most likely accidentally, while the other generally accepted theory attributes the explosion to spontaneous combustion of the Maine’s own coal supplies. In either case, the explosion was likely unintentionally and triggered a second, larger explosion by detonating the ship’s powder stores.

Trinity House Boxes

hcst — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 15:06:45 +0000

Trinity House Boxes

Trinity House was the name for the lighthouse service in Great Britain in the 19th century. While on station, the keepers of lighthouses and lightships made exceptional boxes with fancy wood inlays, including marquetry and parquetry, often featuring sloops, lighthouses and other nautical symbols of the period. Sizes typically fall in the 6- to 12-inch range. The keepers sold these boxes directly to the captains of sailing vessels using Trinity House services. Surviving examples are rare, including still banks, storage boxes, valuables boxes and writing boxes.

A similar tradition was followed in the United States, where keepers of the Nantucket lightship made high-quality baskets for their families and/or for sale to island visitors.

Reference note by p4A editorial staff, August 2012.

Vindex Company

hcst — Thu, 19 May 2011 13:58:16 +0000

Vindex Banks

The Vindex Company is perhaps most well known for its role as a sewing machine manufacturer in Belvidere, Illinois. Although little is known about the reasons behind their venture, Vindex briefly moved into bank manufacturing during the early 20th century. The company produced a number of mechanical banks and at least two still banks during this era.

Banthrico Banks

hcst — Wed, 18 May 2011 11:43:25 +0000

Banthrico Coin Banks

The Banthrico name and origin can be traced to Chicago in 1931 when Jerome Aronson and Joseph Eisendrath purchased the Banker’s Thrift Corporation. Banker’s Thrift had joined forces with the Stronghart Company in 1929 and had become a well-known maker of small steel building banks. The new owners shortened the name to ‘Banthrico’ and continued the already established line of promotional banks. Early success led to the purchase in 1940 of National Products and facilitated expansion into white metal model car banks.

After the break in commercial manufacturing during WWII, Banthrico continued production and enhanced variety during the late 1940s and 1950s by including busts of famous Americans, sports mascots, appliances, and automobiles. White metal building banks (white metal being a composition of approximately 95% zinc, 4% aluminum and 1% copper) dominated the company’s offerings from 1945 to 1985. Production peaked in the 1960s and 1970s and although the high quality standards were kept and efforts were made at diversification, the recession of the 1980s took its toll and Banthrico was sold 1985.

J. & E. Stevens Co.

hcst — Fri, 13 May 2011 09:47:42 +0000

J. & E. Stevens Banks & Toys

John and Elisha Stevens founded the J. & E. Stevens Co. in 1843. Based in Cromwell, Connecticut, the company manufactured hardware equipment, but switched to toys and banks in the 1870′s when an inventor named John Hall introduced the Stevens to his patented design for a bank with moving parts. Hall named the bank the Excelsior and it soon revolutionized the cast iron toy industry, acting as a catalyst that changed the Steven’s hardware business into the oldest toy and bank company in America.

Although the J. & E. Stevens Co. became renowned for their mechanical banks, it also produced a number of still banks, toy stoves, cap guns and pull toys. The company ceased manufacturing mechanical banks in 1928, and closed altogether during World War II due to iron shortages. After the war, the J. & E. Stevens Co. reopened under new ownership to produce toys (mostly cap guns) until the 1950′s.

Golliwogg Dolls

hcst — Thu, 12 May 2011 14:01:33 +0000

Golliwogg Dolls

The market for cloth character dolls really boomed with the creation of the Golly by Florence Upton, who was born to English parents in New York in 1873 and illustrated a children’s story, “The Adventures of two Dutch Dolls And A Golliwogg ” (written by Bertha Upton, 1895), with a black rag-doll character called Golliwogg who had a big smile, fuzzy hair and staring, white-rimmed eyes. He wore brightly colored clothes, including a stand-up collar and bow tie.

The Uptons, mother and daughter, worked together on twelve illustrated books, all featuring the gallant little character and his adventures traveling to such exotic destinations as Africa and the North Pole, accompanied by his friends, the Dutch Dolls. Because the original books were published by Longemans, Green and Company in England, the Golliwog’s fame and popularity spread there rather than in New York, the home of Florence Upton. English children and children of the commonwealth countries are those most likely to have heard the stories and played with the dolls.

The earliest golliwogg dolls were hand-made rag dolls by mothers and grandmothers in the image of the storybook character. As early as 1910 golliwoggs were mass produced, and many companies already making teddy bears, such as Steiff in Germany, began to churn out Gollies. By 1910 they had become so popular that Robertson’s, an English jam and preserve manufacturer, adopted the figure as their symbol, reproducing the Golly as a brooch and in felt cut-out form through the 1950′s.

Golliwoggs are now commercially produced in England, New Zealand, Germany, and the U.S. Golliwogg artists and creators can be found around the world. Items decorated with pictures of golliwoggs have been made over the years and these are now avidly collected. Post cards, greeting cards, dishes, perfume bottles, and playing cards are a few of the items that can be found picturing golliwoggs.

A.C. Williams Company Banks & Toys

hcst — Wed, 11 May 2011 13:06:11 +0000

A.C. Williams Banks & Toys

When A.C. Williams, Jr. bought his father’s business, the A.C. Williams Co., in 1886, it was a leading manufacturer of hardware items in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. After fires in 1889 and 1892 destroyed the Chagrin Falls operation, Williams decided to move the company to Ravenna, Ohio. It was soon after this move that a Detroit buyer suggested that the miniature product models carried by the company salesmen would make nice toys. This suggestion led to the beginning of the A.C. Williams Company’s venture into toy and bank manufacturing.

The expansion into toy production soon increased, making the company the largest toy and still bank manufacturer in the world, bringing them well-known chain store customers like Woolworth’s. The company’s production of still banks grew rapidly, including large numbers of character, animal, transportation, and building bank types. Production boomed until the beginning of World War II, when iron was needed for military consumption. After the war, the company continued to manufacture toys until 1977, although bank production was never resumed.

Nicol & Company

hcst — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 15:15:27 +0000

Nicol & Company

There is little corporate information known about Nicol & Company, established in 1883 in Chicago, Illinois. However, what is known is that the company took great pride in advertising their challenging “trick” safes and banks, which featured innovative opening devices and puzzle features.

Enterprise Manufacturing Co.

hcst — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 15:13:48 +0000

Enterprise Manufacturing Co.

The Enterprise Manufacturing Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was primarily a hardware manufacturer known for its coffee mills and domestic devices such as cherry pitters and apple peelers. Taking advantage of the 100-year milestone in America’s history, and the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition of 1876, the company produced a number of souvenir banks that depicted patriotic landmarks, such as Independence Hall. The company continued to manufacture banks after the exposition until the late 1800′s.