Here is a restraint that does deserve the designation 'Rare'. This can be confirmed by the large price paid by the winner to claim this set for their collection.
I would say this is a Super Rare Set of HandCuffs up for Grabs......there are no stamps or marks of any sort on these............I have owned bought sold/traded quite a few sets of restraints and have never personally seen a set like these....I have seen pics of somewhat similar styles......after extensive research I found what I believe is the patent for these................please be sure to copy paste and check out........................http://www.google.com/patents?id=o81hAAAAEBAJ&zoom=4&pg=PA1#v=onepage&q&f=false ..........................................
its dated 1874......and there are 3 variations of this set listed and these are Fig 2 the ones in the middle ..................they measure a touch over 13" long and 3 1/4" wide at the wrist and the diameter at the end is 1 3/8".................the locking device is a Square Head Bolt which locks the wrist restraints on to the bar,the square head bolt remains fixed in the wrist restraint,thus the cut-out in the sleeve to accomadate the threaded part of the bolt.....
Please Be Sure To Check Out The Pics.............so with the square head bolt there was obviously a wrench type of deal which acted as the key,which is lost to time......................material is nickel plated brass or bronze and shows Nice Wear and a Deep Pleasing Patina............GREAT SET FOR THE ESCAPE ARTIST OR POLICE/HANDCUFF COLLECTOR ENTHUSIAST....Chances are it'll be a long time before you see another set for sale...IF... you ever see another set up for grabs..............A GREAT ADDITION TO YOUR COLLECTION.............
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On May-20-11 at 06:50:07 PDT, seller added the following information:
Further Research has shown the these may Very Well be the ONLY PAIR OF BROOME and WOODS in Existence!!!!!!........That they never Made It Into Production and That TheseMay Very Well Be The Patent Prototypes.............Its my understanding that Prior to 1880 the U.S Patent office Required a Working Model of an idea to be submitted which the Patent Office apparently kept..........and after eliminating that requirement somewhere around 1920 the Patent Office Auctioned off all the Prototypes and some of the more important ones were put into the Smithsonian Institute......these may Very Well Be one of the Patent Prototypes Auctioned off ,purchased and owned privately.........Of course this all needs even further Research and is Educated Speculation.........
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On May-21-11 at 14:48:34 PDT, seller added the following information:
Here's Some interesting info I'd like to ad........... eBayer Amazingollie wrote me to say.........I was friends with a fellow named Dick Norman.
He wrote a book on handcuffs for magicians, back in the 60s.He listed this in his book, and had owned one at one time.He later sold it to a felow in Texas named Pat Broach,who in turn sold it to ???????.........Could these have belonged to Dick Norman,theres no telling how many hands an item can pass through in 137 years
........................is there a picture of Houdini out there with these on?????????
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On May-22-11 at 04:40:54 PDT, seller added the following information:
As this auction comes to a close I would like to address some chatter....... to straighten out any possible questions raised........ and ease any over analyzing of the patent description.........First Off.... this piece can only be truly appreciated when it is handled in person.....and that there is no way it can be fully appreciated in pics...when you hold it,it is evident that they have been around for a long time and handled extensively and that the Wear and Patina are Even and Genuine,the middle bar has a deep patina with 98% of the plating gone but some of the plating can still be seen on the ends of the bar,so if this piece did in fact make it into a jailhouse/prison situation the guard would have the prisoner cuffed in the rear because cuffed in front this would be a weapon,so when cuffed in the rear how would the guard guide the prisoner but by using the middle bar as a handle thus wearing off the plating and darkening the brass........the nickel plating is still on the two cuff parts but has dulled with age and is worn in spots from repeted handling...There is absolutely no way to ascertain this from the pictures ,the flash of the camera on the reflective surface of the plating alters the image so that its tough to capture its true color ....................................And why are there no markings, of any kind, on this piece?......Theres Nothing That Says there Needs to be,if this is in fact the Patent Model all it would've had on it is a couple paper tags................................ the threads on the brass bolt are perfect,Could these have been cut on any machines available in 1874?Absolutely!!!.....Screw lathes were were invented mid 1700's and perfected early 1800's,for more education on that............try.....http://www.madehow.com/Volume-3/Screw.html......and.........http://inventors.about.com/od/sstartinventions/a/screwdriver.htm
.........................................................................its also come to my attention that some are over analyzing the patent description which I feel is basically describing what Broome and Wood were trying to ultimately achieve in their product with adjustable sizing which would've include additional sleeves,additional parts{making them complex and therefore impracticle and probably why they never took off}, these would be figure #1 the set on the left...forget the patent description and simply look at the pictures, these cuffs that I'm selling are essentially a combination of designs 2 and 3....its that simple.........................................................
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On May-22-11 at 04:51:52 PDT, seller added the following information:
Now are these the only set these guys made??????If you think about it, Maybe not,because if Broome + Wood tooled up to produce a part,say the sleeve or the cuff or the middle bar why not make multiples and put together a few sets to send them out for test marketing??Send a sample out to prisons ,sherriffs,military police and whoever for feedback......given the wear on this set perhaps thats the route these took...some prison or jail gets a free pair of cuffs and puts them to use.. on out of control cowboys indians, prisoners of war,outlaws, bandits border crossers,gangsters.........137 years theres no telling where these have been.....Theres no telling who has owned them!!!!!!.....Houdini was going Full Speed when the Patent Office had the auction,find a picture of him with these on and you've got yourself something special......................I'm so intreged by these cuffs I had a half a mind to pull the auction and Get the History Detectives on the case...look into Broome and Wood,try to find out how many pairs they produced if it was only the ones for the patent model try to find the auction record of who bought them at the US Patent office Auction......for a short history on patent models go to ...........http://patentmodelassociation.com/history.html...................................
.............................................................And If they did make a few pairs,where are the others??????????????.......This is it....This is Your Chance........THESE CUFFS ARE REAL......THESE CUFFS ARE BEAUTIFUL.........AND THESE CUFFS ARE UP FOR GRABS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!............As they used to say on the carousel........."Sometimes You Only Get One Chance To Grab The Brass Ring"
Good Luck - eBay (22 May 2011)
This amazing set of restraints had a high bid of $6,766 (Plus $10.25 Shipping).
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