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LONDON: PRINTED BY SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE AND PARLIAMENT STREET
[Illustration: FIRE-ESCAPE AND STEAM FIRE-ENGINE IN ACTION
(_From a drawing supplied by the Royal Society for the Protection of Life from Fire_)
THE CONSTRUCTION OF LOCKS, SAFES, STRONG-ROOMS, AND FIREPROOF BUILDINGS; BURGLARY, AND THE MEANS OF PREVENTING IT; FIRE, ITS DETECTION, PREVENTION, AND EXTINCTION; ETC.
_A COMPLETE LIST OF PATENTS FOR LOCKS AND SAFES_
A small book, embracing such subjects as herein treated of, is necessarily somewhat disconnected in its character. In endeavouring to be strictly practical, I fear I have made some portions of the book uninteresting to the general reader; if so, it must be remembered that my chief aim has been to place certain facts before professional and business men, at the same time introducing matter that may be useful to everyone.
I have to offer my best thanks to Colonel Fraser, Colonel Henderson, Captain Shaw, and other Gentlemen, who have afforded me valuable help.
If the importance of protecting life and property becomes in the least degree better understood and appreciated, I shall feel amply repaid for the time and trouble incurred in the preparation of the book.
57 ST. PAUL’S CHURCHYARD, LONDON: _January 1875_.
Introduction--Locks, ancient and modern--Copying keys--Ornamental keys--Breaking open padlocks--Chubb’s detector lock--Sets of locks--Elements of a good lock--Common locks 1
Planning burglaries--Bank robbery--The Cornhill burglary of 1865--Providing fit receptacles for valuables--False keys--Insecure premises--Modes of house-robberies, and means of prevention--Burglars’ tools--Statistics--Police notice--South-Eastern Railway robbery--Jewel robberies--Notice by Colonel Fraser 10
Patents for safes--Safes by Milner, Tann, Hobbs, and Chatwood--Chubb’s diagonal and new patent safes--Wedging open safes--Drilling, and mode of protection--Other methods for opening safes--The safe custody of keys--Amount of space required for bullion 30
The heat to be resisted--Three qualities necessary--Refractory and evaporating systems--Best materials to use for fireproofing--Public tests--Double enclosure for parchments--Safes once in fire to be re-proofed--Effects of Pantechnicon fire on safes--French safes--Gunpowder safes 44