Expert: Terry V. Andreasen (Andy) - 2/22/2009

Question
QUESTION: I have a 46 x 30 x 30 (about the size of a washing machine)Vulcan safe that I can't find anything about. It has an interior door with lock and inside, several wooden compartments. It has a Yale tumbler on the outside and sits on cast iron wheels. It has a cottage scene on the outside door, says Vulcan safe & lock company inside the main door, and a bunch of flowers on the face of the inside door. I've only seen very small Vulcan safes and nothing of this size. Where can I go to find out more about it? Thanks for your help.

ANSWER: Jim,


This is one of those small companies that I will probably be researching for years.  To the best of my knowledge they were out of Dayton, Ohio in the late 1800's to early 1900's.  I have one listing for them as a "mail order safe company", which would fit in with the type of safes they sold.  I've only seen a couple of sizes of Vulcan Safes and they are what I would consider a small office or home safe.
I have a friend that has a Vulcan catalog dated 1908 so that would given you an approximate time frame for your Vulcan safe... The company is long out of business, they apparantly made or provided safes that were sold in Sears, Roebuck & Co stores during that era.
Many safe "distributors" would sell safes manufactured by other companies, and repaint or place the name of their company on the safe, for advertising purposes, even though they were not the manufacture.

As I have posted previously,  the majority of the safes that I have seen, with Vulcan labels, most appear to be York safes though I have see some that appear to be HHM's.  Your's appears to be of the York variety.

I have not been able to find any manufacturing reference in Dayton Ohio for the Vulcan Safe & Lock Company, though it may have been a subsidary of a larger company.  There was a Vulcan Manufacturing listed in the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition.  There was also a Vulcan Manufacturing company in Wolverhampton, England in the 1950's-1969 that manufactured steel products including locks, but I don't believe they were the same company.

I'm still researching, but this may be one of those "lost in time" companies.

Andy

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for such a quick response, but this is the same answer you gave the last Vulcon safe question online. While I appreciate your time and effort, I guess I'd better keep researching since no one has been able to tell me anything about it. If you run across anyone who has more information, I'd appreciate hearing from them.
Thanks again.

Answer
Jim,

While I would love to give different answers each time, my answer can only change as I get new info.  As these companies have been out of business, for in many cases over 100 years, this means that the info that we have is also not going to substantially change.

Unfortunately the majority of the postings on the web are from owners of Vulcan safes that have no more information than you.  The antique dealers erronously label their safes without bothering to do any research.

I'm sorry I don't have more info for you, but I can guarantee you that any time I don't have an answer that "I" am satisfied with, I do hours and hours of research.  Unfortunately many of these companies disappeared around 100 years ago and there is very little documentation about them.

Many times the only information that I can get is by finding a persons name who may have worked at the factory and then doing some historical study on that person.

If during your studies you do come across more information, hopefully you will pass it on to me.

Andy