Antique Lock Collection Appraised at $200,000, Owner Cannot Open Any of Them

Retired dentist and antique lock collector Harrison Escutcheon has received an appraisal valuing his 847-piece collection at approximately $200,000, a figure tempered by the fact that he cannot open a single lock in it.

'I collect for the craftsmanship, not the functionality,' Escutcheon said, gesturing toward a wall of custom display cases in his Savannah home. 'That Chubb Detector lock from 1818 is a masterpiece of British engineering. Do I have the key? No. Do I know what's inside it? Also no. But look at that brass.'

The collection, which spans five centuries and includes rare examples of warded locks, lever tumbler mechanisms, and three Bramah patent locks that Escutcheon acquired at estate sales across Europe, has been assembled with what his appraiser described as 'impeccable taste and a complete disregard for operational capability.'

'In twenty-two years of collecting, he has never once attempted to open any of these locks,' said appraiser and lock historian Constance Ward. 'Several of them may contain items of historical significance. There could be anything inside these boxes and cabinets. He doesn't want to know. He says it would ruin the mystique.'

Escutcheon's most prized piece, a Barron lever tumbler lock from 1778 that predates the more famous Bramah challenge lock, was purchased at auction for $34,000. It is attached to a small iron strongbox that rattles when shaken.

'People ask me what's in the box,' Escutcheon said. 'I tell them: the box is the point. The contents are immaterial. The lock is the art.'

His wife, Lorraine, offered a different perspective. 'There could be a treasure map in that box. There could be a letter from Napoleon. There could be a very old sandwich. He will never know, and it drives me absolutely insane.'

Escutcheon is currently negotiating the purchase of an unkeyed 17th-century Nuremberg padlock, which he describes as 'the crown jewel of unknowable security.'