32 History Of Locks
Aubin ‘Maker’
Brian Morland, curator of The History of Locks Museum, comments
and describes artefacts from the Museum’s collection.
^ The Trophy pictured in the
1950’s after restoration.
^ Trophy detail from the 1950’s
during restoration, this panel
featuring Strutts lock of 1815.
^ One of the ‘tiers’ ready
for reassembly.
‘most of these
early locks were
exceptionally
well-made
»»Anybody interested in
locks will be aware of the
incredibly beautiful piece of
art that so typically personifies
the Victorian mind-set, ‘The
Aubin Lock Trophy’. Aubin was
persuaded to sell the trophy,
which was exhibited for the first
time at the great Exhibition of
1851, to Alfred Hobbs.
Charles St Aubin was born on
the 29th November 1812, but by
the time he was 18 (in around
1830) he had already developed
a number of locks that were to
show both his inventiveness
in relation to devising the
mechanical means to thwart
whatever weakness that were
presented in other locks and
the craft technical abilities to
actually produce them.
Most of these early locks
were exceptionally well-made,
couple this with the principles
and features he devised, made
them expensive and therefore
they were hard to establish,
but they did contained features
that were to be adopted by
later locksmiths proving Aubin
was a locksmith ahead of his
time. Don’t forget at this time
locks were virtually handmade,
Aubin’s method of blocking
the keyhole for instance would
have been labour intensive
in 1830, yet by some 20 years
or so later machinery such as
steam powered mill drills was
gradually being introduced
which made many of
Aubin’s ideas suddenly more
attractive.
Later inventions of 1842,
the Latch Bolt Lock, and 1850
the Balance Detector Lock,
the Vibrating Guard lock and
the Compound Lever Lock
also suffering in the same
way, although excellent ideas
brilliantly executed but were
far too expensive for everyday
use; they were way ahead of
their time. In fact, years later,
the Compound Lever and
Vibrating Guard lock ideas
were taken up by Bauch and
Fichet respectively.
Those years leading up to the
Great Exhibition of 1851 were
perhaps the most intense for
Aubin not only did he make
ordinary locks to pay his way
he developed many ideas and
improvements and proved them
with examples. Concurrent with
this’ around 1849 he was to start
making his lock trophy.
Aubin’s early history is very
sketchy. The theory is based
reading between the lines of
what has been discovered so far
in contemporary adverts, articles,
directories and papers, the story
will become even clearer as more
original documents and artefacts
are found.
Aubin seems to have been
relatively comfortable in the
years leading up to The Great
Exhibition. His children now
old enough to help and with nodoubt boys from the workhouse
or orphanage carrying out the
routine lock making, but still
under his watchful eye, its well
know he was a perfectionist
and would not pass shoddy of
inferior work. This left him the
time to devote to developing his
improvements in locks and of
course his making his first Lock
Trophy. Although comfortable,
he was not in a position to
take a flamboyant stand at the
upcoming Worlds Trade Fair at
Crystal Palace. So it seems he
locksmithjournal.co.uk | jul/AUG 2015
took a cabinet shared with his
father who exhibited decorated
glass. Hobbs marvelled at the
‘tiered cake’ style of his creation.
This enthusiasm was no doubt
transmitted to many of the
visitors to exhibition by Hobbs.
As soon as the event was over,
Hobbs purchased the Trophy
from Aubin who was not too
reluctant since he was already
planning another trophy.
Aubin’s Compound Lever Lock
Aubin’s Vibrating Guard Lock
Aubin’s Balance Detector Lock
These locks, from a
contemporary illustration
and invented in the years
leading up to the 1851 Great
Exhibition, don’t appear on
the trophy. Note how they
are represented on different
shaped plinths panels, the
decoration and engraving also
differing from the first trophy –
was this the second ‘Trophy’?