U.S. Post Office Serial Padlocks "44" "47" & "48"

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THIS DISPLAY shows locks stamped "44", "47" , & "48"  .   Noteworthy is the "12" lock which was previously "47009" -- "47" imbedded in 5 digits.  This lock has the shackle stamped "1897" -- the original year of production.  





HISTORY  The United States Post Office Department, on or about 1897, introduced the "Serial Lock" for use on corner letter boxes.  For a short period of time prior to 1897 and for a number of years after, a similar 5 lever lock, labelled, "SAAR" was used on letter boxes.   All Post Office locks and keys were manufactured at the Mail Equipment Shops (MES) in Washington, DC. The MES also did all recordkeeping and acted as a supply warehouse for individual post offices. The MES not only knew which code locks an individual post office had but which keys they had--by serial number.   The Mail Equipment Shops, opened in 1900,  was closed July 14, 2014 and the serial lock was removed from service gradually between 2015 -- 2020 and replaced by an 8-lever internal lock referred to as the "Arrow Lock". The Serial lock measures 2"x2 7/8" x 15/32" (50.8mm x 73mm x 11.9mm)



The SAAR lock was an offshoot from the 26 lock series which had codes "A" to "Z" and were stamped "SAR" to "SZR".  Unlike the Serial Lock, however, their purpose was to support Star Route or Contract Mail Carriers who traveled from city to city.  The Star Route Locks were stamped "SAR" (code "A") to "SZR" (Code "Z") and facillitated their access to  individual post office buildings.  The name "Star Route" is derived from the practise of designating those routes handled by Conract Carriers by affixing a star next to their name on the list.  Prior to the widespread rollout of Serial Locks, SAAR locks became the corner mailbox lock of choice. As late as the 1970's, there were still some in use in front of the main post office building. 



It is not known whether there was ever a SBBR, SCCR, etc. code lock.  None have shown up in any collections including those at the US Postal Museum.  



It is also not known, conclusively, how many different code numbers were assigned to Serial or Street Letter Box Locks (SLBL).  The issue is complicated by the subsequent removal of certain codes for these reasons:  fragile key cuts, palindrones or key codes which if inserted backwards opened a different lock.  It appears as though, at one time or another, there were codes 1-60 for corner mailboxes and codes 101-125 for boxes located in front of the post office.  These were emptied, at least in part, by a Star Route driver (when he visited the post office after hours). The locks in the series 101-125 were also stamped "Metro" .



It also seems likely that some codes within the range of 1-60 were removed from service so that there were not as many codes to support. It is important to remember that the MES did an extensive amount of lock repair and recordkeeping, as noted above.



During the period 1897 to the 1950's the SLBL code stamped on the lock was not simply "1" or "25" but the individual code was imbedded in a longer number. For example, code "7" was shown as 7123 or 7456, etc.  Similarly, code "23" would show as  "23789" or "23023", etc.  When the code was for lock numbers 1 thru 5 it was shown as 01, 02, 03, 04, or 05 so that 01 would not be confused with number 10 or 11, etc.   The  SLBL keys also had the code shown in imbedded fashion.  For example, if the key was for a code 13 lock and the serial number was 4356, the number 134356 would be stamped on the key. 



 



 



 
Data dodania: 28 października 2021
Datowanie przedmiotu: 1897 - 2014
Stan eksponatu: Bardzo dobry
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