A New Type of Lock

The earliest automobile manufacturers had a choice between the insecure switches of the electric companies or the relatively high priced pin-tumbler locks of the established lock companies. By the mid teens a new type of lock, the wafer lock, became available which provided a moderate degree of security at a moderate cost. King Lock first appears in Chicago around 1912. One hundred miles north in Milwaukee, Briggs & Stratton had established itself as a manufacturer of ignition switches, among other things. Early on Briggs & Stratton used locks and keys from various lock manufacturers before designing their own in the late teens. Clum Manufacturing, also located in Milwaukee, was an early user of wafer locks for their ignition switches.

Warded Locks Also Used

The two door keys on this page are for warded locks. Eagle Lock Company was a well established lock manufacturer in New England. Cowles had been in the business of manufacturing carriage hardware. Both of these companies supplied warded door locks to the auto industry.