This site is created and maintained by members of the Antique Doorknob Collectors of America, a non-profit club of individuals, businesses, and organizations devoted to the study and preservation of ornamental builder’s hardware. More information about ADCA can be found on our Join the ADCA page and on the club's website, www.antiquedoorknobs.org.
This site grew out of Victorian Decorative Art, A Photographic Study of Ornamental Design in Antique Doorknobs by Leonard Blumin. In his 1983 book Len Blumin laid the ground - work and established the principles for classification of doorknob design still used today. The work was revised and expanded by Antique Doorknob Collectors of America under the editorship of Win Applegate. These books providing a photograph of each knob and the information known became the premier source of information for those seeking information about door hardware.
Due to limitations inherent in a printed book, these authors were restricted to a single picture of each knob and limited space for text. This website eliminates these limitations, allowing multiple photos and more information from widely available resources from the web and from the club's archives. On this site each doorknob has it’s own page, many of which contain multiple views of the knob, information currently known about the knob as well as links to other sources or a copy of an article from The Doorknob Collector. Each doorknob is found by scanning through the letter/classification pages (A -W), which are described on the Contents page. Click on the on photo to open the page for that doorknob.
Steve Hannum, Editor
This site grew out of Victorian Decorative Art, A Photographic Study of Ornamental Design in Antique Doorknobs by Leonard Blumin. In his 1983 book Len Blumin laid the ground - work and established the principles for classification of doorknob design still used today. The work was revised and expanded by Antique Doorknob Collectors of America under the editorship of Win Applegate. These books providing a photograph of each knob and the information known became the premier source of information for those seeking information about door hardware.
Due to limitations inherent in a printed book, these authors were restricted to a single picture of each knob and limited space for text. This website eliminates these limitations, allowing multiple photos and more information from widely available resources from the web and from the club's archives. On this site each doorknob has it’s own page, many of which contain multiple views of the knob, information currently known about the knob as well as links to other sources or a copy of an article from The Doorknob Collector. Each doorknob is found by scanning through the letter/classification pages (A -W), which are described on the Contents page. Click on the on photo to open the page for that doorknob.
Steve Hannum, Editor