Not totally unknown anymore...

Hi!

These cuffs have been up for discussion at the Forum before. They are also mentioned in the book of Alex R Nichols and referred to as unknown leg irons (p 126). According to my opinion they are not leg irons but oversized handcuffs. Today I acquired a set of cuffs marked “Widforss” and then it hit me… Maybe the “M W” marking on the cuffs stand for “Mauritz Widforss”, an Swedish trading company established in 1729. I called the company today and they confirmed that it’s their marking. Unfortunately they couldn’t tell what company manufactured the cuffs.




The set acquired today is marked “Widforss Import” and it’s probably manufactured by the German company GECO since they are similar according to the high manufacture quality and the position of the serial number. They could, of course, be manufactured by JGA as well.



Regards,

Lars

http://www.holstcollection.com/

Very Interesting the Pic in the bottom the key looks like it is for a Peerless. Don,

Hi!

These cuffs have been up for discussion at the Forum before. They are also mentioned in the book of Alex R Nichols and referred to as unknown leg irons (p 126). According to my opinion they are not leg irons but oversized handcuffs. Today I acquired a set of cuffs marked “Widforss” and then it hit me… Maybe the “M W” marking on the cuffs stand for “Mauritz Widforss”, an Swedish trading company established in 1729. I called the company today and they confirmed that it’s their marking. Unfortunately they couldn’t tell what company manufactured the cuffs.




The set acquired today is marked “Widforss Import” and it’s probably manufactured by the German company GECO since they are similar according to the high manufacture quality and the position of the serial number. They could, of course, be manufactured by JGA as well.



Regards,

Lars

http://www.holstcollection.com/

Click to expand...

Sounds excellant. The leg-irons that are photographed in Alex's book are part of my collection. The main reason we thought they may have been from Poland is that the set of handcuffs in the Hiatt collection have a very faint round logo on them (there is no sign of M/W within this logo) but the shape of the bow and keyhole position is very similar plus the set that I have marked M/W have 5 thin locking ratchets within the cuff body and the Hiatt set have 3.
Unfortunately the set I have,have had their chain shortened but are still very interesting. Perhaps someone has a set of their handcuffs?
Chris

Hi!

These cuffs have been up for discussion at the Forum before. They are also mentioned in the book of Alex R Nichols and referred to as unknown leg irons (p 126). According to my opinion they are not leg irons but oversized handcuffs. Today I acquired a set of cuffs marked “Widforss” and then it hit me… Maybe the “M W” marking on the cuffs stand for “Mauritz Widforss”, an Swedish trading company established in 1729. I called the company today and they confirmed that it’s their marking. Unfortunately they couldn’t tell what company manufactured the cuffs.




The set acquired today is marked “Widforss Import” and it’s probably manufactured by the German company GECO since they are similar according to the high manufacture quality and the position of the serial number. They could, of course, be manufactured by JGA as well.



Regards,

Lars

http://www.holstcollection.com/

Click to expand...

Yes, the key is similar to the Peerless but with a slightly smaller bit. Due to that a Peerless key doesn’t operate the lock on this cuff.

Now I'm sure that the second model "Widforss Import" actually was manufactured by GECO, Germany. I have compared to my GECO in detail and they are exactly the same despite of the markings. I don't know if I ever have come across a set with a higher manufacture quality, they are extremely well made.

Chris, let's hope there are more collectors with additional information.

Lars


http://www.holstcollection.com/