Locks and keys have been around since Egyptian and Roman times, but so have thieves. In the Middle Ages, most keys, including the most elaborate, could be bypassed with a simple bent wire. In order to defend themselves against thieves, up to ten locks were placed on a single door.
While locks of the day were made on special order, they could be expensive, not to say inconvenient to the lord or lady who had to carry around ten keys. The most famous of English locks is the Beddington, which necessitated the use of a stiletto in addition to a key. The lock is fourteen inches long and bears the coats of arms of Henry VII and Henry VIII.
Still, thieves will be thieves and Tudor thieves were still picking locks. As an additional deterrent to persistent robbers of the realm, safeguards were put in place on items such as wardrobes and coffers. In the case of the coffer, a second lid would be set in place, this containing holes which appeared to be no more than finger grips. After having picked the lock, the thief would naturally insert his fingers into these holes in order to uncover what lay within. It was then that a strong spring would be released, which in turn set into motion a pair of steel jaws which clamped down and nearly amputating the digits.
The first patent for a lock was granted in 1774, with many patents thereafter being awarded to locks which also served as detectors. These would fail to open should any key but the one made to work with that lock be inserted into the keyhole.
An improved form of detector was patented by Chubb in 1818. This lock had an additional spring-loaded lever which sat above six tumblers. Should a false key be inserted and raise the levers too high, the lever would be trapped in the upheld position, allowing the person with the real key to know immediately that his lock had been tampered with.
In 1784, Joseph Bramah invented a lock that was not only small in itself, but also had a small key. He then turned to improving the lever tumbler lock, which had been invented by a Mr. Barron, and which relied upon sliders spaced radially around the pin over which the pipe key fitted. The insertion of the key released the sliders, allowing the cylinder to turn and the bolt to slide into place. After much improvement and fine tuning, the Bramah lock was placed in a Piccadilly shop window along with a challenge of two hundred guineas awarded to anyone who could pick it. The lock remained in the window for fifty years until an American locksmith named Hobbs arrived on the scene. Working four hours per day, it took him ten days to open the lock, at which time he was paid the promised two hundred guineas.
At long last, Hobbs admitted to being a representative of Day and Newell, manufacturers of the Parautopic lock, whose own security was challenged before long...
So it seems moden-day car manufacturers could take a lesson or two from history and make car thieves really work for their living! If your novel not only involves picking and breaking into locks, but the weapons carried by the thief, you will be interested in a book entitled Armed & Dangerous.
A selective chronology of firearms development is included:
1000-Use of gunpowder in China
1247-First use of gunpowder in European warfare
1411-Matchlock firearms in Austria
1476-Rifle barrels introduced in Italy
1500-Use of firearms sights in Germany
1690-British forces adopt "Brown Bess" flintlock muskets
1793-Percussion lock firearms introduced in Scotland
1835/36-Samuel Colt patents first revolver in England and America
1847-Nitroglycerine developed in Italy
1848-Christian Sharps patents four-barrel pepperbox pistol
1860-Spencer repeating rifle developed
1862-Gatling gun developed and the Confederate forces introduce first
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by Michael Newton
