Books about Hardware

ADCA offers the four books written by one of our founding members, Maud L. Eastwood of Oregon, for purchase as a high-resolution PDF download only; as printed copies are no longer available. In addition, books by Henry Towne and P. & F. Corbin are included. Note: Downloads of these books are sold with the understanding that they are for the personal or business use of those purchasing them, and are not for public distribution without permission from the ADCA.

A lower-resolution free Preview of selected pages from each book is available by clicking the "Catalog Preview" button and downloading or opening that PDF file. Each PDF includes the title page, index (if the catalog contains one), and several pages of designs, which will give you a sample of what the entire catalog contains.
To Purchase a PDF of a Book or Catalog:
  1. Click the "Add to Cart" button for each item that you wish to purchase. The same cart will be used for all pages of the website. If you add 10 or more books and catalogs to your shopping cart and complete the purchase of 10 or more items, you will receive a 10% discount when you checkout (the price of each item will be reduced 10%).
  2. When you have finished shopping, make any adjustments your cart and "Checkout" through Paypal using either your PayPal account or a credit/debit card. A PayPal account is not necessary in order to purchase books and catalogs.
  3. When catalogs are purchased, a "Complete Purchase" button will become available. Clicking that button will begin downloading your catalog(s) to the device (laptop, computer, or smart phone) that you are using to make your purchase. If you do not want to accept delivery at that time, simply close your browser after clicking the "Complete Purchase" button. You will receive an email that will contain a link to your catalog(s), which will allow you to download your catalogs to the device of your choice at your convenience. The links to your catalogs will remain viable for ten days.
After catalogs have been downloaded, they may be copied onto whatever storage medium you wish—thumb drive or DVD—and may also be uploaded to smart phones, tablets, and cloud-based services. Catalogs may be printed out in their entirety, in selected pages, or in close-ups of individual pieces. Different pages and items from different catalogs may be combined to create specific and unique compilations of targeted material—useful for writing articles or creating hunting lists of pieces in which you have a special interest. This expanded access to information will vastly improve your ability to retrieve and search for information.

If you have any questions, please email [email protected].
High-Resolution PFD's of the following books are available for purchase.
Antique Builders’ Hardware, Knobs & Accessories
By Maud L. Eastwood
224 pages; © 1982
This first comprehensive work defines door hardware of Colonial and Victorian America. The research material was compiled using a multi-company approach. Anticipated interest by users and collectors dictated that content also cover selected pre-knob devices and locks, plate and boxed. There is an illustrated glossary of over sixty distinct pieces and 145 pages of hardware (largely knobs and plates, identified by year and design name) representing twenty companies. The book includes four pages of color plates. Other features include special emblematic hardware, a collectors’ section and an index.
$19.50
Antique Builders’ Hardware, Knobs & Accessories, Supplement No. 1
By Maud L. Eastwood
36 Pages, © 1992
A highly illustrated booklet featuring a potpourri of door hardware examples designed to appeal to collectors and to provide a tool for users.  Included are hundreds of knob designs as diverse as 1876 representational, Special Design Corbin (not found in catalogues), Art Nouveau, odd shapes, pull knobs, emblematic knobs for hotels, societies, schools, and governmental offices, as well as a section of 1894-1910 Sargent & Company hardware.
$6.50
The Antique Doorknob
By Maud L. Eastwood
206 pages; © 1976
Maud Eastwood's first book and a foundational book for doorknob collecting, "The Antique Doorknob" contains much useful information and explanations about doorknobs. The book is filled with illustrations of knobs and patents, as well as reproductions of pages from various hardware catalogs. Although much new information has been unearthed and new hardware discovered since the book was published in 1976, "The Antique Doorknob" remains a wonderful introduction to doorknobs
$20.00
150 Years of Builders’ Hardware: Forms, Use & Lore
By Maud L. Eastwood
113 pages; © 1993
This work is a comprehensive study of latches, locks, strikes, keys, and their relationship, use, and application to doors of all types (passage and entry). The book includes an addendum of interesting hardware lore, an extensive glossary and bibliography, plus an index.
$20.50
Louis Sullivan Designed Door Hardware
By Maud L. Eastwood
7 pages; 1988
The content of this handout from the 1988 ADCA Convention compiles and expands on information from previous issues of The Doorknob Collector. the ADCA club newsletter. Also included are several "Sullivanesque" buildings, along with information regarding Yale & Towne designs which have been attributed to Sullivan.
Free
A Limited Handbook of the Iron Age in Hardware
By Maud L. Eastwood
44 pages; 1997
The content of this treatise is a limited account of the Iron Age in Builders' Hardware, the theme chosen for the 1997 convention of the Antique Doorknob Collectors of America. Though a limited account, references will be made to hardware of other metals when doing so will serve to add interest or clarify points made.
Free
P. & F. Corbin
History of the House of P. & F. Corbin.
1904.
105 pp., 9½ x 7½.
$9.00
Henry Towne
[Yale & Towne Manufacturing Co.]
Locks and Builders’ Hardware: A Handbook for Architects
1904
1117 pp., 6½ x 4.
$84.00
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Antique Doorknob Collectors of America
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