January, 1915 
HOUSE AND GARDEN 
fourth essential of good hard¬ 
ware is that it should not be ob¬ 
trusive in shape or size with 
parts that stick out and are liable 
to hurt people or catch and tear 
their clothing. Lastly, all hard¬ 
ware should be well made and 
substantial and capable of with¬ 
standing usage. 
Having established a standard 
by which to measure utility in 
choosing domestic hardware, it re¬ 
mains to say a few words about 
the deorative capacity, which 
ought to he considered concur¬ 
rently. It is of the first impor¬ 
tance to observe the principle of 
architectural congruity and see 
that the hardware fittings are in 
keeping with the style of the ob¬ 
jects upon which they are to be 
used. Such observance leaves 
wide liberty with regard to either 
simplicity or elaboration. While 
elaboration is perfectly permis¬ 
sible for the sake of an occasional 
spot of enrichment, anything fantastic or whimsical should 
be avoided, for it will soon lose its interest. In nine cases 
out of ten, rigid restraint and simplicity of design are pre¬ 
ferable. Above all else, let every decorative piece of hard¬ 
ware have an obviously useful function as well. Do not, 
for example, have conspicuous strap hinges extending 
across the width of a door when in reality the door is hung 
on butt hinges which are practically invisible. In such a 
case the hingeless straps are merely a piece of meaningless, 
faddish' and dishonest ostenta¬ 
tion, their presence is a palpable 
deception and their use is inde¬ 
fensible from the points of view 
of ethics, common sense and 
architectural propriety. If there 
is an ornate key plate or es¬ 
cutcheon on a door, let it be 
there for a bona fide keyhole, 
and not for the embellishment of 
a dummy keyhole that is not 
used. If a chest has great strap 
hinges extending across the lid, 
let them be genuine and let the 
lid depend upon them. The use 
of sham hinges and other fittings 
is a detestable piece of material 
insincerity. So much for general 
principles. 
For the sake of a concrete ex¬ 
ample in choosing hardware, let 
us take a door, for that is the most usual object of hard¬ 
ware fittings. If it is a Colonial door of either batten or 
panel type, both box-lock and bolts will be appropriate. A 
box-lock is one whose mechanism is enclosed in a flat box 
attached to the inner surface of the door. A mortise-lock, 
on the other hand, is entirely enclosed within a mortise or 
cavity cut in the stile — usually at the junction of the stile 
and middle rail—of the door. The black color of the box- 
lock and bolts forms an agreeable contrast to the white of 
the door, so that such fittings, 
even though perfectly plain, are 
decorative as well as utilita¬ 
rian. On such a door one will 
expect also to find stout strap 
hinges, which may be either 
quite plain or wrought with a 
degree of elaboration. 
With the door of Georgian 
type, the box-lock and bolts are 
still in order, while large strap 
hinges, except sometimes for 
outside doors, are not so often 
found. Doors within the house 
in both the Colonial and 
Georgian styles not infrequent¬ 
ly have angle hinges such as 
those shown in one of the illus¬ 
trations. During the Georgian 
period, however, there is a 
growing tendency to hang 
doors on butt hinges which are 
practically invisible. About the 
beginning of the Nineteenth 
Century, doors, both outer and 
inner, were commonly made of 
sufficient thickness to admit of using mortise locks, and the 
use of box-locks was merely a matter of preference, and 
not a matter of necessity, as it had been when inside doors 
were usually too thin for a mortise to be cut in them. There 
is no practical objection to the box-locks other than the dis¬ 
like some people have of any projection that can be avoided, 
however slight, from the surface of a door or door-frame. 
Where box-lock and latch are combined there is the addi¬ 
tional decorative possibility of a bright brass knob. Along 
with mortise locks came knobs, 
on the doors of the better kind, 
of metal-mounted glass or 
painted porcelain, as well as 
brass. Where box-lock and latch 
are separate, as they frequently 
are on early doors, the latch- 
grasp is susceptible of interest¬ 
ing treatment. 
With the modern door, thanks 
to our eclecticism and cosmopoli¬ 
tan mixture of architectural 
types, almost any style of hard¬ 
ware may be appropriately used 
so long as it meets with the re¬ 
quirements previously noted and 
accords with the general sur¬ 
rounding treatment. The ten¬ 
dency towards concealing hard¬ 
ware that really began with the 
appearance of the butt hinge and 
the mortise lock has reached its full development in the 
various invisible doorsprings, door checks, and the like, con¬ 
cealed in the floor and elsewhere. These fittings are excel¬ 
lent and eminently useful, but are practically incapable of 
any decorative treatment, and are therefore much better out 
of sight. 
From the few instances noted in connection with the 
door one may gather the somewhat analytical way in which 
(Continued on page 59) 
The latch plate of Colonial 
days had genuine decora¬ 
tive value 
SI 1 
17 
