P-25061 |
The Swastika has been around for a long time. The architect W. W. Kent wrote a whole section on Schools of Ornament in the 1904 book Locks and Builders’ Hardware by Henry Towne, the President of Yale & Towne. Kent wrote “Pure prehistoric ornamental motifs other than animal forms are the Swastika, that mysterious, symbolic design found in almost all places where man has set his foot, and dots, zigzags or chevrons, circles and other rudimentary forms." The word swastika is derived from the Sanskrit svastika, meaning “conducive to well-being.” It that sense, the symbol is widely used in Hindu and Buddhist culture. The symbol was also used by Maya in Central and South America and the Navajo in North America.
In the 19th Century German archaeologists linked the symbol to a shared Aryan culture that spanned Europe and Asia. Hitler took the swastika as a symbol of “Aryan identity” and German nationalist pride. Thus an ancient symbol with positive meaning has become to most people a symbol of hate and the worst that can be done to human beings.
Nothing is known about the building for which this lock and knob was made. The Yale "mono" lock appears in the 1910 Yale catalog. This lock likely was made in around that time, while the swastika was still viewed in a positive light.
In the 19th Century German archaeologists linked the symbol to a shared Aryan culture that spanned Europe and Asia. Hitler took the swastika as a symbol of “Aryan identity” and German nationalist pride. Thus an ancient symbol with positive meaning has become to most people a symbol of hate and the worst that can be done to human beings.
Nothing is known about the building for which this lock and knob was made. The Yale "mono" lock appears in the 1910 Yale catalog. This lock likely was made in around that time, while the swastika was still viewed in a positive light.
School:
Emblematic |
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