Where Can I Find Historic Hardware and Products?
UpdatedHistoric buildings are often in need of renovations. Oftentimes it is both cheaper and easier to upgrade older hardware with modern commercial-grade hardware. Historic houses, though, can be stripped of their charm and historic accuracy when this is done. Air registers, bathroom fixtures, and doorknobs that are appropriate to older homes cannot be found at your standard hardware retailer. The following is a list of resources, products, and programs for those interested in buying or selling historic hardware and products.
Ask Your State Historic Preservation Office and Statewide Preservation Organization
Your state historic preservation office and statewide preservation organization will be an excellent resource for you, as they should know where to find historic hardware and products in your state. To find your "SHPO" and "statewide" please use this link: http://www.preservationnation.org/contacts/. For more information on "SHPOs" and "statewides" see the first page of this information sheet.
Specialty Shops and Salvage Shops
Specialty Shops specialize in selling historic artifacts. These specialty shops range from a shop in St. Louis that primarily sells structural glass, to a store in New York City that sells everything from historic statues, fountains, and stained glass windows to doorknobs and light fixtures. Many of these stores have websites. To find these stores, check advertisements in magazines such as Preservation, do a search on the internet, or use your yellow pages.
Salvage Shops have been becoming increasingly popular as people become more interested in making the interior of their buildings accurate to the time period they were constructed in. If you have access to the internet, this would be a good place to start looking for a salvage shop that will meet your needs. There are several web directories for salvage shops in America, Canada, and Europe. Most salvage shops do not sell online, but some have a listing of what products they have available.
Some nonprofit organizations also have salvage shops. Habitat for Humanity has organized Re-Store, which are salvage shops that specialize in building supplies. There are now over 50 stores across the country. Please visit their website at http://www.habitat.org/env/restore.html for more information. To find out if there are any nonprofit salvage stores near you, please contact your statewide preservation organization.
If you are interested in buying or selling online, the Old House Journal www.oldhousejournal.com has a section called "Sales and Swaps" and Ebay (www.ebay.com) sells almost anything.
Tips from the Old-House Journal
In the December 1998 issue, the Old-House Journal published an article on Historical Hardware, written by Gordon Bock, which contains some useful tips for those searching for hardware for an historic building. Below are some of the tips and information contained in that article:
- Antique/Salvage: Antique and salvage shops are good sources for finding used, historic period hardware. Keep in mind that hardware found in antique or salvage shops is usually sold as-is, and the condition and quality of the hardware is usually unpredictable.
- Neo-Traditional: Hardware produced in a neo-traditional style is designed based on historically inspired patterns and period motifs. This kind of hardware may not be a perfect match to other pieces of historic hardware, but the design could complement hardware from the same time period that its design is based on.
- Reproduction: Reproduced hardware is a new product made from an old design. The difference between a neo-traditional product and a reproduction is that the neo-traditional one is designed after a historic pattern while a reproduction is usually produced from a mold of an antique piece.
Below is Bock's list of shopping tips for people searching for historic hardware (for a complete copy of Bock's article, contact the Old-House Journal at www.oldhousejournal.com):
1. Prior to the 1950's manufacturers continued to keep many utilitarian hardware patterns in production for years. Some patterns from the last quarter of the nineteenth century were still in production in the early part of the twentieth century, and many of these designs will be appropriate for a historic home.
2. Be extra careful when shopping for hardware through a catalog. If an item does not look good in a picture, chances are it won't look good when you get it. Make sure the supplier has a good return policy and inspect the product thoroughly before you install it.
3. If you are trying to match a piece of hardware, take it with you while you shop around. It is easier to match dimensions, designs and details when you can compare pieces side-by-side.
