Locks and Keys Throughout the Ages

Locks and Keys throughout the Ages is widely considered the best book ever written on the history and development of locks. It is illustrated throughout with photos from the famous and extensive Lips' Collection. It was written in 1957 by Vincent J.M. Eras, the director of one of the most respected and important lock manufacturing companies in the world at that time, the Lips' Safe and Lock Manufacturing Company (now part of the ASSA ABLOY Group, along with Yale, Chubb, and many other once independent manufacturers). The author was not only a master locksmith who held several important patents, but he was also an avid collector and was passionate about the history and development of locking mechanisms. His extensive knowledge of the field comes across on every page. In fact, Eras had been in the lock manufacturing business for 58 years before he wrote this book. In the preface he states.