There are many collectors in the world, but collectors’ associations are found mainly in the UK and the US. Some examples of major, well-established associations are the West Coast Lock Collectors Association (WCLCA), the American Lock Collectors Association, and American Profile in the United States.
Museums with lock collections
The job of museums is to gather, protect, preserve, and show objects. Many museums have started as private collections. Most types of Swedish locks and keys are found in the collections of the county museums, but unfortunately they are rarely exhibited. The Nordic Museum and the Museum of National Antiquities in Stockholm have huge collections of locks and keys, but only a handful are on display.
Several museums in Europe and the United States show locks and keys in their core exhibits. However, many museums frequently change their exhibits; the Internet is a good way to keep track of current exhibitions, admittance fees, and open hours.
Belgium
Gruuthuse Museum, Bruges, Belgium
Royal Museums of Art and History, Brussels
UK
Ironbridge Gorge Museum, Ironbridge
Museum of English Rural Life, Reading University
Science Museum, London
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Willenhall Lock Museum – The Locksmith’s House. Willenhall, West Midlands
Finland
Borgå Museum, Borgå
France
Musée des Arts Décoratifs (Museum of Decorative Arts), Paris
Musée de la Serrure (Lock Museum) – Bricard, Paris
Musée le Secq des Tournelles, Rouen
Musée des Arts Décoratifs (Museum of Decorative Arts), Bordeaux
Norway
Historical Museum, Oslo
Sweden
Museum of National Antiquities, Stockholm
Nordic Museum, Stockholm
Kulturen, Lund
Historical Museum in Lund
Gislöfs Smidesmuseum (Gislöf’s Ironworking Museum) in southeastern Skåne
Germany
Bavarian National Museum, Munich
Deutsche Schloss- und Beschlägemuseum (German Museum of Locks and Fittings) in Forum Niederberg, Velbert
Germanisches Nationalmuseum (National Germanic Museum), Nuremberg
Historisches Museum (Historical Museum), Dresden
St. Annen Museum, Lubeck
United States
Lock Museum of America, Inc. Terryville, Connecticut. Terryville is the American location where locks were first manufactured on an industrial basis, starting in 1833.
Austria
Hanns Schell Collection, Graz
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| A collection of Roman finger-ring keys of bronze from c. 200 AD. Photo by the author. |