When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
AESTHETIC MOVEMENT BACKPLATES, MATCHED PAIR
A matched pair of ornamented knob backplates; both sides of one door. Dense allover foliate ground, stylized and flattened in the Anglo-Japanese manner, broken by horizontal strapwork bands of interlocking scrolls and by rows of pendant forms above and below. Busier and more sophisticated than the usual Eastlake fare, and the pattern carries edge to edge with no dead field anywhere on the plate.
Pairs are the asset here. Singles turn up constantly. Two that came off the same door together do not.
CONSTRUCTION
Both plates are non-magnetic, suggesting a brass/bronze and/or copper alloy. Both carry a slight lengthwise crown, convex on the face, visible in profile in the photos.
Knob hole is a plain opening through the plate with a low integral rim, no separate collar. Keyhole is the standard skeleton-key profile. A raised ornamented rectangle sits between the knob hole and the keyhole; it is riveted to the plate and does not move. Four countersunk screw holes. Reverses are flat and unfinished with all relief on the front face only.
MARKINGS
A number stamped into the reverse. Photographed.
MEASUREMENTS
See photos, which are on a 1" grid.
DISCLOSURES
- Cleaned and buffed on the faces. Reverses are untouched.
- Reverses show old finish, paint residue, and oxidation as shown. Not rust.
- Nicks and dings at the edges and around the knob holes.
- Ornament is softened at some high points.
CONDITION
Cleaned and buffed, not restored. No replating, no repairs, no reproduction parts. Plates only: no knobs, no spindles, no screws, no lock.
PROVENANCE
This hardware came to me from a Chicago-area source, and the collection is understood to have come largely from houses in the Hyde Park neighborhood on the city's South Side. This history is unverified background rather than a guarantee. What I can confirm is what's in front of you: the ornament, the construction, the dimensions, the magnet results, and the condition, all photographed.
PHOTOS
Please review all of them. They are the most accurate condition report I can give you, and anything I haven't described in words is visible there. Happy to shoot additional photos of any detail on request. All photos are shot on a 1" grid background.
If you recognize the pattern or the manufacturer, I'd be glad to hear from you.
SHIPPING
Securely packed and protected. Calculated shipping from ZIP 98008. Combined shipping available with my other antique house parts sales shipped from the same location. I ship only to physical street addresses, no PO boxes.
