Vintage WB Wilson Bohannan Padlock with and 47 similar items

Up for bid is tested WB (Wilson Bohannan) Padlock with its original key After working for several other manufacturing companies, Wilson decided it was time to go it alone. Well not quite alone, he and his fourteen year old son, Wilson Todd Bohannan, set up a small shop behind their modest Brooklyn home and began assembling padlocks. Wilson Bohannan was granted his first patent on April 17 , 1860. Their success didn't happen overnight, but by 1870, Wilson was able to move out of his garage and into a much bigger building. His new workshop was located on the comer of Kossuth Place and Broadway, also in Brooklyn. In a few short years, Wilson Bohannan Co. began to enjoy some success. Steam engines were purchased and used to power several new machines. The steam also provided heat during winter to a vastly growing number of employees. Production increased dramatically. In 1888, the company was incorporated and business was booming. That same year Wilson Bohannan Inc. built a new factory on Lexington Ave. This factory was four stories and almost 10,000 square feet. This new factory also contained a brass foundry where all the padlocks were cast. By the turn of the century, nearly two hundred employees were now casting, assembling and shipping an estimated 100,000 padlocks. Railways were Wilson's biggest consumers. The most popular WB padlocks sold to the railroads were the models "115" and "119". These models were produced in great numbers. Even today, these locks can readily be found at many flea markets and computer auctions at a very reasonable price.