Union Safe & Lock Factory BOSTON 1838 Montreal Branch plaque & keyed lock For Sale

Up foroffer is an American key safe lock with working key and the safe plaque that wasattached to the outside of the safe.

Nicebrass/bronze plaque and an ornate cast iron bezel that framed the plaque andheld it in place.

I don’tbelieve the key is original but looks like it was made many years ago. Worksperfectly.

When Itook off the cover plate for some reason someone had shimmed up the plate usingwashers. I don’t think that was original to the safe lock but it does bring theplate up to be even with the adjacent safe lock body.

It is 5levers and as you can see the levers have the anti-pick notches on the ends ofthe levers where the notched bolt slides through. Key works perfectly.

Noobvious cracks in cast iron except for the one tab that held the lock in placeon the backside of the safe door.

The lockneeds a thorough cleaning. Looks like grease around the bottom of the boltareas, etc. In found condition.

Eventhough the plaque says established in 1838.

From what AI (grok FREE) says…… the Union Safe& Lock Factory was named in 1857 for the Montreal Branch.

I didfind an 1855 newspaper ad from Vermont with the Union Name.

Icopied and pasted below what AI had to say….

Yourantique safe’s plaque points to a real piece of Boston history—though the“established 1838” might be a bit off or tied to an earlier root. Here’s whatshakes out:

The UnionSafe and Lock Company wasn’t a standalone Boston factory from eighteenthirty-eight. It was actually the name used for a Montreal branch of theEdwards safe-making family business, set up around eighteen fifty-seven.

TheBoston side starts earlier. Around eighteen thirty, a blacksmith named HughEdwards (from Eaton, MA) teamed up with Albert Bisbee to start making locks andsafes That grew into partnerships like Thayer & Edwards by eighteenthirty-nine—they even showed off an iron safe at a Boston exhibition that year.By the mid-eighteen fifties, folks like Oliver Edwards and Robert Kershawformed Edwards & Kershaw in Boston, cranking out fireproof safes and locks.

ThenCharles Dickens Edwards—yep, named after the writer—stepped up as a senior guy.In eighteenfifty-seven, they opened that Montreal outpost specifically called Union Safeand Lock Company, with Charles running it till eighteen sixty-one. It later flipped names to Kershaw & Edwards,then back to just C.D. Edwards after he stayed north and went Canadian. Byeighteen eighty-five, it became The Edwards Safe Co. back home.

So, yourplaque? Probably from one of those Montreal safes, stamped with the branch nameand maybe fudging the “established” date to nod at the family’s long Bostonroots—could be off by twenty years, but hey, antiques love a good story.

2ndtime I asked…. Same results…

Belowis from ai

From whatI found, the Boston outfit started way back around eighteen thirty as alock-and-safe partnership between Hugh Edwards and Albert Bisbee, but it wasn’tcalled “UnionSafe and Lock Factory” then. Thatspecific name pops up in Boston ads starting around eighteen fifty-six orfifty-seven—like “Union Safe and Lock Factory, Gore Block” opposite the RevereHouse, run by Edwards, Fernald, and Kershaw.

TheMontreal branch kicked off in eighteen fifty-seven, right when Charles Edwardstook over as manager, and they branded it “Union Safe and Lock Company” upthere. So, your plaque saying “Union Safe and Lock Factory, Boston, established1838” probably nods to that early eighteen-thirty roots—maybe they rounded itor stretched the family business back to when Hugh first got into safes. Butofficially? The “Union” name didn’t hit until the mid-fifties, and the Montrealspot was a fresh branch from then.

Yeah, the“established 1838” on your plaque is kinda intriguing—it’s not lining up withthe main records, but it might be a marketing flex or a nod to somethingearlier. From what I can piece together, the Union Safe and Lock Company wasstrictly the Montreal outpost, kicked off around eighteen fifty-seven as abranch of the Boston outfit Edwards & Kershaw (or earlier variants likeThayer & Edwards). That Boston root traces back to Hugh Edwards—ablacksmith—who hooked up with Albert Bisbee about eighteen thirty for locks andsafes. No real factory or company named “Union” pops up in Boston till later,and nothing screams eighteen thirty-eight.

Theplaque saying “Montreal and Lock Factory, Boston” sounds like it’s blending thetwo: maybe “Montreal Branch” of the Boston “Lock Factory” (that’s how theystyled the parent biz), with eighteen thirty-eight as a loose “family businesssince” date—could be when Hugh arrived in Boston or started smithing, even ifsafes came later. Old ads and directories from Montreal do show C.D. Edwardsrunning it post-eighteen sixty-one, but no eighteen thirty-eight mention.

If it’sgot “Union Safe and Lock Company” plus that wording, it’s almost certainly fromone of those Montreal-made safes, stamped proud with the Boston heritage. Kindalike how some labels say “since eighteen hundred” even if the brand is newer.

From whatI found, the Boston outfit started way back around eighteen thirty as alock-and-safe partnership between Hugh Edwards and Albert Bisbee, but it wasn’tcalled “Union Safe and Lock Factory” then. That specific name pops up in Bostonads starting around eighteen fifty-six or fifty-seven—like “Union Safe and LockFactory, Gore Block” opposite the Revere House, run by Edwards, Fernald, andKershaw.

The Montreal branch kicked off in eighteenfifty-seven, right when Charles Edwards took over as manager, and they brandedit “Union Safe and Lock Company” up there. So, your plaque saying “Union Safeand Lock Factory, Boston, established 1838” probably nods to that earlyeighteen-thirty roots—maybe they rounded it or stretched the family businessback to when Hugh first got into safes. But officially? The “Union” name didn’thit until the mid-fifties, and the Montreal spot was a fresh branch from then.

Please seemy other safe keys for sale later this week. Valentine & Butler etc.