Cuff of the Day for May 5. Griffin

This week I would like to continue cover a different manufacturer each day covering various countries as we go. 
Please send me your suggestions for next week.

Here is the schedule for this week
Monday - Stotz
Tuesday  - Griffin
Wednesday -  Elijah Rickard
Thursday - Konepaja Voima  and Harrington & Richardson
Friday - Chubb
Saturday - Tower
Sunday - Modern American Handcuffs that never really succeeded. - Gotcha, Trilock, Goncz . . . .

Thomas Griffin is generally accepted as the founder of the Birmingham handcuff industry.  His business opened in the late 18th century and lasted until about 1820.
His successors, partner James Nichols and nephew Thomas Griffin Hiatt carried on after his passing.

My prize Griffin cuff is the Griffin bar cuff.     I remember seeing this cuff the first time in Indianapolis when Stan brought it to show.  He had just purchased it and at the time none of us knew anything about Thomas Griffin.  We could only speculate about its origin.  Michael Griffin claimed that it was his. "It has my name on it!"
Alex Nichols showed a picture of another one from the York Castle Museum in his first book, but he knew nothing about the company at the time.  Later when Stan was selling his collection
I was lucky enough to buy it.

Later investigations revealed that Thomas Griffin was the founder of the Birmingham handcuff industry.  This cuff was one of his best.  It is 200 years old, but it still works remarkably well.
Opening easily with the key, but closing with a satisfying click.

Joe

Lets start off with a Griffin Darby cuff. Quite unusual especially as it has a collar around one of the shackles. Originally I thought it might be covering a hole in the lock tube but there is no hole. It can not be removed even when the cuff is open. Any ideas?

Next up is a very heavy set of Griffin Plug Legirons. Weight is 2.35kgms. The key appears to be original.

Set of Griffin & Hiatt a Plug 8 cuffs. Marked Hard and #3. Key #3. Regret no plug.

Standard Griffin Plug 8 cuffs.

Probably Griffin but can not see makers name. Stamped Y-KSHIRE. Similar to the ones Joe showed and the set shown in Alex Nichols book (the set shown were on loan to me for 6 months and I made the key for them).

Again speculation? Griffin construction and keyway looks Griffinish!

WOW what GREAT pieces...... A Solid State Giffin Handcuff 

Giffin Single Plug

Chris and Fred - What nice items you have!
Fascinating to see the various things they were trying in those days.

Here is another cuff that was once owned by Chris.   A Griffin plug 8 with a belt loop.

I remember that cuff Joe. I could not identify the maker - your hawk eyes found Griffin well identified!
Love your solid state cuffs Fred, never seen them before.
The heavy set of Griffin Legirons shown in Alex’s book were even heavier than the above set I showed and I traded them with Tom Gross many years ago. Does anyone know what has happened to his collection?
Also attached photo of the Griffin & Hiatt markings on the Plug 8 cuffs.

Should have added this to Griffin & Hiatt cuffs.

Here is another Griffin & Hiatt.

And a Griffin & Nichols.

My oldest Griffin cuff is a spring lock fetter, which is likely from the earliest work of Thomas Griffin in the late 18th century,  the 1780s or 1790s.  Or perhaps it was made by some other member of the Griffin family.

It is a very primitive spring lock, a refinement of the type that goes back to the Romans. 
Griffin Fetter
Top View
Lock Mechanism  (broken I am sorry to say)

The Griffin name is quite clear, but it did not photograph well.

An interesting reference to a Fetter similar to this one appears int the Pitt-Rivers book, "On the Development and Distribution of Primitive Locks and Keys."
This book published in 1883 was a catalog of the lock collection in the Pitt-Rivers Museum in Oxford.   The museum still exists.  It would be interesting to see what they have in their collection.    You can find the book on line using a simple Google search of the title.

Here is a picture of a Fetter in the Pitt-Rivers book.  It is similar to the Griffin fetter, but the key goes into the mechanism from the opposite side.


The Griffin fetter is broken, but it represents a fascinating prelude to the "modern" cuffs of the 19th century.
Joe

Wow! Amazing pieces! Some, I have never seen before. Unfortunately, I do not have anything from Griffin in my collection, yet. As you know, they are hard cuffs to come by. The closest I have would be my very heavy set of Nichols Plug 8 Leg Iron (similar to the Griffin one posted earlier) or my Nichols long chain darby handcuff that I just bought from the U.K., but have not received yet. The one without the key is mine. The other belonging to a fellow collector in the U.K. It is also made by Nichols and marked as such.
-Richard Knip-

No makers marks.
Rather than show more of the same, this is to better show Joes illustration. Note the 4 dots on key and cuff which I believe is in lieu of a number stamp. One of my Griffin leg cuffs has the same dot system.

Chris, my thought on the sleeve over the lock tube is that it is a repair or reinforcement. Maybe someone tried a file to escape, who knows. It being a cast lock body, there is also more chance of a crack or defect, whereas the earlier cuffs and plug 8 had a proper steel tube

Paul
You really do have a example of the fetter in the Pitt-Rivers book. Amazing.
And it looks like it is complete and in great shape.
Joe

Never really looked for markings on these. Having found them no obvious markings. Of the 5 I have two appear to take the same key and the other 3 are different.
The Hiatt Handcuff Collection (see Handcuff Annual 2006 page 105) shows two near top on the left.

With a bit of imagination I think I can see an N at the end! So guess it may be an early Griffin? Had them for over 30 years and still not managed to open them yet!

chriscuffs6 wrote: ↑

May 06, 2020

With a bit of imagination I think I can see an N at the end!  So guess it may be an early Griffin?  Had them for over 30 years and still not managed to open them yet!

try this https://www.britishpathe.com/video/hand ... id-of-them

While looking for Gotcha pics, I found this Griffin pic that I forgot I had.
I have a particular Griffin that Joe wants to see and I have them in a box that is not where it is supposed to be.
These Griffins must be with it and I hope to find my British cuff box before too long.

Mark - Nice Griffin plug 8.   The cuff I would really like to see is your Hiatt Darby that looks like my Griffin & Nichols Darby.
I saw it when I visited you home, back when
Joe

Hi Joe,
I was determined to find the cuffs today as they were in a box with other Darbys and I am beyond pleased to have found it.
I was having trepidations that I had lost it all with all the moving I endured over the last 12 years.
It was finally located in a place that I would not normally place it and it was hidden behind another box of Prince Wheeler/Pop Reno letters.  I don't think they saw the light of day since 2010.

I am pleased to share this photo with you and if I recall this right, you said that this cuff is the missing link of Darby cuffs.  More figuratively than literally in this case.
Please refresh my mind (and share with the other collectors) why this cuff is of any significance.  Perhaps these two cuff makers were not known to have collaborated before?
The shorter key seems to be original as it works flawlessly.

Darby cuffs are definitely not my strong area of expertise so I appreciate learning from you.
The bottom picture is among my favorite Darbys as I like the ornate clevis design and my guess is something French.  The lock collar and the key have matching "ll" strike marks which is very unusual.  
Have you any idea what or where this is from?
Maybe an idea for future topics is Unknown Darbys so if we network together, we might be able to put a name or location to some of these mystery cuffs.

Mark
Your Darby is not exactly a missing link, but it is very rare example of a Griffin & Hiatt Darby.  Griffin & Hiatt plug 8s seem more comon.  I suspect it was made at just about the same time as my Griffin & Nichols Darby. It has a similar short key. But instead of a solid circular link, the Griffin & Nichols has a swivel.

As for your other Darby, don't know what it is, but I like it.
Joe

Here is the Griffin & Nichols to compare.

Being envious of Fred and his nice single Griffin Leg iron, I decided to join his club.
This new addition to the collection is missing the plug but I see no repairs or other flaws.
It works just as it should and original key is a bonus!
My "Griffin" is stamped "with the grain" where Fred's example is stamped across the bow.