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AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



December, 1908 



Vase knocker 



Greek design 



Dog and ring 



A graceful form 



Old-time Latches and Knockers 



By Mary H. Northend 



AST iron and solid brass were the usual 

 materials from which knockers were made 

 in old times; whereas we now use cast 

 bronze or wrought iron for their repro- 

 duction. As the proportions of the doors 

 and gates for which they are designed 

 must needs vary, the dimensions of the 

 knockers are variable also. We may, however, classify the 

 door-knockers into three types, of which the first has the 

 form of a ring, usually suspended from the jaws of a 

 lion. This kind of door-knocker is sometimes called a 

 door-ring, and served a secondary purpose, as door handle, 

 in addition to its primary use of heralding the visitor's 

 arrival. 



The second type includes all knockers having the form of 

 a hammer, movable on a more or less primitive hinge, such 

 as the horseshoe knocker here represented. 



The third type arose in Italy, during the best days of the 

 Renaissance, and comprises all those bronze door-knockers 

 showing groups of figures, whether lions, dolphins, or human 

 beings. 



In all three classes the desired sound is produced by 

 the falling of the movable part upon a metal stud; but in the 

 third class, the escutcheon, or plate by which the knocker is 

 fastened to the door, is considered of but little importance, 

 whereas in the two preceding classes it seems to have 

 been the leading motive, from the standpoint of design. 

 During the Gothic period these escutcheons were usually 

 of diamond shape, and richly decorated with pierced work. 

 This motive was sometimes retained during the Rennais- 

 sance, but was more frequently replaced by double-headed 

 eagles, and the like. 



With regard to repetition of design, what was true of 

 medieval knockers holds true at the present day. There is 



Scroll knocker 



An old-time latch 



