The Glass House

New Canaan, CT

1947–1949

Philip Cortelyou Johnson, Architect

Ostrander & Eshleman, Inc., Hardware Supplier

The W.C. Vaughan Co., Manufacturer

Vaughan FT 671 cabinet knobs, installed in the Glass House

The W.C. Vaughan Co. manufactured a diverse range of hardware for the Glass House, including lever handles, thumb turns, mortise locks, hinges, door pulls, and cabinet pulls.

The FT 671 cabinet knob, used prominently throughout the house, had been used by Walter Gropius in the Hagerty House in 1938.

Historical Timeline

1800

1808

George Washington Robinson is born in Providence, Rhode Island.

1811

William Hall is born in West Greenwich, Rhode Island.

1811

September 3: Ezra Blake Robinson is born in Cambridge, Mass.

1818

The New England Glass Co., founded by Deming Jarves and others.

1818

George B. Lothrop born.

Spencer Richards is awarded a patent for a process for finishing glass buttons.

1822

c. 1822

Spencer Richards works with Richard Robinson & Co., the glass button manufacturer founded by Enoch Robinson’s cousins Richard and Willard Robinson.

1824-1825

Enoch Robinson operates machine shop with his brother-in-law Willard Starkey in Attleboro, Mass.

1825

c. 1825

Enoch Robinson begins manufacturing door knobs and other hardware, independently and with Spencer Richards and others, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

1825

Enoch Robinson begins association with the New England Glass Co.

1825

Deming Jarves leaves the New England Glass Co.; founds the Boston & Sandwich Glass Co.

1825

Henry Whitney assumes control of the New England Glass Co.

Enoch Robinson & Henry Whitney: “Making Glass Knobs for Doors”

U.S. Patent No. 4,553X

1826

Robinson & Whitney’s glass press revolutionizes flint glass manufacturing.

1828

Congress passes the Tariff Act.

Prices increase on imported goods and raw materials.

Enoch Robinson and Spencer Richards collaborate on the mold for a whale-oil lamp manufactured by the New England Glass Co.

c. 1830

Spencer Richards: “Improvement in Making Glass Knobs“

U.S. Patent No. 6817

1831

c. 1832

G.W. Robinson, Machinist, Ballard Place

1833

G.W. Robinson, Machinist, 25 Garden.

c. 1833

Enoch Robinson joins Francis Draper, establishes Enoch Robinson & Francis Draper in Boston.

1833

William Enoch Robinson is born in Cambridge, Mass.

1833

William Hall marries Elizabeth Lothrop, the sister of George B. Lothrop.

1834

G.W. Robinson, Machinist, 43 Purchase.

1835

G.W. Robinson, Machinist, North Margin.

c. 1835

Enoch Robinson leaves Cambridge for Boston.

1836

December 15: US Patent Office fire. Around 9,957 patent records and some 7,000 models were lost.

1837

G.W. Robinson & Co., 4 Richmond Street.

Enoch, George W., and Ezra B. Robinson manufacture glass door knobs.

1837

Enoch Robinson parts ways with Francis Draper, and joins his brothers George and Ezra at G.W. Robinson & Co.

1837

“Enoch Robinson & Francis Draper” changes name to “Francis Draper.”

1837

Francis (Frank) Draper Robinson is born in Boston, Mass.

1839

E. Robinson & Co. established.

1839

January 2: E. Robinson & Co., 32 Dock Square.

1841

November 19: Albert Murray Robinson is born in Somerville, Mass.

1843

William Hall leaves E. Robinson & Co.; founds Wm. Hall & Co., 27 Dock Square, Boston, Mass.

1843

William Francis Hall is born in Brookline, Mass.

1844

April 15: Charles Bulfinch dies.

1846

E. Robinson & Co. moves to 4 Washington Street.

Adams Boston Directory: Robinson Steering Apparatus (Advertisement)

1846

1847

MCMA Exhibition at Faneuil and Quincy Halls, Boston. Among the exhibitors are Enoch Robinson, William Hall, and George B. Lothrop.

Charles Street Jail

1848

1849

Mercury glass is patented in England by Edward Varnish and Frederick Hale Thomson of E. Varnish & Co.

1850

c. 1850-1866

George B. Lothrop works with his brother-in-law William Hall at Wm. Hall &. Co.

1850

Henry John Hall is born in Boston, Mass.

c. 1851

James R. Bugbee becomes partner in E. Robinson & Co.

James R. Bugbee, “Improved Lock and Key”

U.S. Patent 8,060

1851

1851

Russell & Erwin founded.

1851

P.F. Corbin Company founded.

1851

Crystal Palace Exhibition, London.

c. 1855

“Francis Draper” changes name to “F. Draper & Co.”

c. 1856

Frederick Gardner Hall is born in Boston, Mass.

1857

G.W. Robinson & Co. moves to 48 Richmond.

G.W. Robinson: “Steering Apparatus”

U.S. Patent No. 23,265

1859

Samuel Ward Residence

1861

G.W. Robinson: “Steering Apparatus”

U.S. Patent No. 32,719

1861

1861

April 12: Civil War starts.

1861

June 28: Joseph Dodge Jewett is born in Lowell, Mass.

E. Robinson & Co. Invoice, 1869

1864

1865

James R. Bugbee, partner with Enoch and William Robinson, leaves E. Robinson & Co.; E. Robinson & Co. changes name to E. Robinson & Son.

1865

Ammi B. Young, in his journal, writes that E. Robinson & Co. “are esteemed the best locksmiths in this country.”

1865

April 9: Civil War ends.

1866

George B. Lothrop leaves Wm. Hall & Co.; establishes George B. Lothrop & Co., at 30 Exchange Street.

c. 1866

Bugbee & Hollis founded.

1867

E. Robinson & Co. hardware displayed in Paris at the Exposition Universelle d’Art et d’Industrie.

c. 1868

G.W. Robinson & Co. moves to 85 Richmond.

1868

William Enoch Robinson dies in Somerville, Mass.

1868

Yale & Towne, founded as Yale Lock Manufacturing Co., in Stamford, Ct.

1869

Deming Jarves dies.

1869

George B. Lothrop, Sr.: “Improved Door Knob”

U.S. Patent No. 92,733

1872

George Washington Robinson dies in Roxbury, Boston, Mass.

1872

November 9: Great Boston Fire.

1873

E. Robinson & Co. moves to 21 Brattle Street.

1873

G.W. Robinson & Co. sells its buildings at North and Richmond Streets and ceases operation.

Willam Hall: “Bank-Lock”

U.S. Patent No. 11,158

1874

1874

Ezra Robinson receives twelve shares in the Somerville Horse Railroad Company.

1875

1875

William Hall dies in Cohasset, Mass., leaving Wm. Hall & Co to his sons William F., Henry, and Fred.

Francis D. Robinson: “Improvement in Latches for Doors, Etc”

U.S. Patent No. 161,705

1875

1875

July 21: Linwood Stanton Hall is born in Rockland, Maine.

1876

January 26: The Northampton National Bank Heist.

Largest bank robbery in US history; this and other robberies drives the adoption of combination time locks.

Francis D. Robinson: “Improvement in Latches for Doors”

U.S. Patent No. 8,008

1877

1877

September 14: Second US Patent Office fire.

1879

Wm. Hall & Co. moves to 4 Dock Square.

1881

Fourteenth Exhibition of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanics Association.

Enoch Robinson is awarded a diploma and a silver medal for door and furniture trimmings, for new designs and superior workmanship..

c. 1883

Wm. Hall opens factory at 82 Sudbury Street.

1883

John Tein Co. founded.

Willam F. Hall: “Door-Knob Attachment”

U.S. Patent No. 278,704

1883

1883

May 18: Walter Gropius is born.

1888

February 11: Enoch Robinson dies; his son Albert M. Robinson takes over E. Robinson & Co.

c. 1888

E. Robinson & Co. moves to 39–41 Cornhill.

Catalogue and Price List of Polished Brass Furniture Trimmings

1888

Polished Brass Furniture Trimmings

1888

Artistic Hardware, Manufactured by Enoch Robinson

1889

c. 1890

Joseph Jewett sets up shop at 19 Pearl Street.

c. 1891

Walter Vaughan joins Joseph Jewett at 19 Pearl Street.

1892

Ezra Blake Robinson dies in Somerville, Mass.

Francis D. Robinson: “Spring-Hinge”

U.S. Patent No. 503,064

1893

1893

Chicago World’s Fair; attended by Walter and Etta Vaughan on their honeymoon.

1894

George B. Lothrop dies.

1894

July 13: Walter Stafford Vaughan is born in Cambridge, Mass. to Walter Clifton Vaughan and Mosetta Isabella Stafford.

1895

Joseph D. Jewett and Walter C. Vaughan form “copartnership” under the name J.D. Jewett & Co.

1895

J.D. Jewett & Co. moves from 19 Pearl Street to 168 Washington Street, near Dock Square.

Glass Knobs

1897

E. Robinson & Co. Envelope

1897

1899

Francis Draper Robinson dies in Melrose, Mass.

1900

c. 1900

E. Robinson & Co. hires L. Stanton Hall.

Enoch Robinson Letterhead, with Drawer Pull Design

c. 1900

Colonial Door Trimmings

c. 1900

French Window Weather-Strip & Bolt

c. 1900

E. Robinson & Co. Invoice

1900

1902

May 29: J.D. Jewett Co., successor to J.D. Jewett & Co., is incorporated, with Joseph Jewett as president and Walter Vaughan as secretary.

1902

Marcel Breuer is born.

1903

July 9: Fire at J.D. Jewett Co.’s store at 168 Washington Street causes several thousand dollars damage.

c. 1905

G.N. Wood & Co. founded.

1905

G.N. Wood & Co. acquires E. Robinson & Co.

1905

February 14: Albert Murray Robinson dies in Somerville, Mass.

Catalogue No. 2 - Glass Knobs

1906

c. 1907

Wm. Hall moves factory to Wollaston (Quincy), Mass.

Catalogue No. 3 - Outside Door Trimmings

1907

Supplement No. 2 - Hinge Plates

c. 1907

1907

Collapse of the Knickerbocker Trust Company of 1907; financial panic of 1907.

1908

December 31: Elmer Hale Pratt is born in Brookline, Mass.

c. 1909

Joseph Jewett and Walter Vaughan end their partnership; Walter Vaughan assumes control of the J.D. Jewett Co.

1909

October 15: The J.D. Jewett Co. is formally renamed the W.C. Vaughan Co.

Pond Hollow Farm (Peabody Residence)

Old Westbury, Long Island, NY

c. 1910

Julian L. Peabody, Architect

Wm. Hall & Co., Manufacturer

East Farm (Archibald M. Brown Estate)

Stony Brook, Long Isand, NY

c. 1910

Archibald M. Brown, Architect

Wm. Hall & Co., Manufacturer

c. 1911

L. Stanton Hall establishes L.S. Hall & Co. at 4 Alden Street.

Catalogue No. 4 - Glass Knobs

1911

Catalogue No. 5 - Outside Door Trimmings

1912

1913

Revenue Act of 1913 reduces tariff rates; removes tariffs completely from iron, steel, and other raw materials

.

1914

Fire destroys L.S. Hall & Co.’s shop at Alden Street. Loss: $10,000.

Heublein Tower

Talcott Mountain State Park, Simsbury, CT

1914

Smith & Bassette, Architects

Wm. Hall & Co., Manufacturer

Nutley New Jersey Public Library

Nutley, NJ

c. 1914

Armstrong & DeGelleke, Architects

Wm. Hall & Co., Manufacturer

Littleholme (Harry B. Little Residence)

Concord, MA

c. 1914

Harry B. Little, Architect

Wm. Hall & Co., Manufacturer

1914

World War I begins.

c. 1915

L.S. Hall & Co. acquires G.N. Wood & Co. (formerly E. Robinson & Co.).

“William Hall Company” Sweets Architectural Catalogue

1916

Catalogue No. 6 - Glass Knobs

1916

1916

William Francis Hall dies.

c. 1918

L.S. Hall & Co. moves to 1 & 2 Haymarket Square.

c. 1918

The W.C. Vaughan Co. acquires L.S. Hall & Co.

L. Stanton Hall stays on as shop superintendent.

1918

November 11: The W.C. Vaughan Co. moves from 168 Washington Street to L.S. Hall’s shop at Haymarket Square on Armistice Day.

1918-1919

Stafford Vaughan attends the Harvard Graduate Program in Architecture; earns Masters.

c. 1918

Henry J. Hall retires from the William Hall Co.

1918

September 12: L. Stanton Hall registers for the draft.

1918

World War I ends.

c. 1919

W.C. Vaughan acquires Wm. Hall & Co.

1919-1922

Stafford Vaughan apprentices at the office of Charles Freely Loring, Jr. in Boston.

1919

January 15: The Great Molasses Flood.

The Purity Distilling Company tank explosion demolishes structures, injures 150, and kills 21.

Harmon Hinge No 806

c. 1920s

1920

Henry John Hall dies in Somerville, Mass.

1921

Ostrander & Eshleman, Inc. founded; exclusive representative of G. & R. Bricard of Paris; distributors of Yale & Towne.

1922-1924

Stafford Vaughan awarded Julia Armory Appleton Fellowship in Architecture for study at the American Academy of Rome; travels in Europe.

For Those Who Collect

House Beautiful

1923

“Colonial Forge and Foundry”

c. 1920s

1924

Walter and Etta Vaughan visit Stafford Vaughan in Rome; Walter collects medieval ironwork and hardware.

c. 1924-1933

Stafford Vaughan works for various architects in New York.

1925

1925

Frederick Gardner Hall dies in Boston, Mass.

1926

W.C. Vaughan acquires building at 3–7 Havervill, which houses its forge, foundry, manufacturing, and shipping departments.

The House Beautiful Building Annual

1926

c. 1926

Elmer Hale Pratt joins the Boston Architectural Club; works as draftsman for Perry, Shaw, and Hepburn.

1929

Elmer Hale Pratt joins W.C. Vaughan as a draftsman.

1929

Wall Street crash; start of the Great Depression.

c. 1933-1941

Stafford Vaughan joins Ostrander & Eshleman, solidifying partnership with the W.C. Vaughan Co.

1934

Walter Gropius flees Germany for London.

1934

Depth of the Great Depression.

Stafford Vaughan designs W.C. Vaughan’s lever handle 637, later used on the front door of the Gropius house.

c. 1935

House at Concord, Mass.

Concord, MA

1936

Derby, Barnes, and Champney, Architects, Architects

The W.C. Vaughan Co., Manufacturer

1936

Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer arrive in Cambridge, Mass. at the invitation of Joseph Hudnut, Dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Under Elmer Pratt’s direction, W.C. Vaughan Co. introduces Lucite door pulls.

c. 1937

1937

June 29: L. Stanton Hall dies.

W.C. Vaughan provides hardware for Life Magazine’s “Life Houses.”

1938

1939

W.C. Vaughan acquires the John Tein Co.

1939

New York World’s Fair, the “World of Tomorrow”; W.C. Vaughan supplies hardware for exhibitions including the Argentine Pavilion and Gropius and Breuer’s Pennsylvania State Exhibition.

1939

World War II begins.

Colonial Hand-Forged, Wrought Iron Hardware

c. 1940

Wrought Iron Hardware

c. 1940s

1940

February 20: Joseph Dodge Jewett dies in Boston, Mass.

1940-1941

Plastics, 1940

Exhibition organized by Robert Woods Kennedy at the Boston Institute of Modern Art

c. 1941

Stafford Vaughan leaves Ostrander & Eshleman, joins the W.C. Vaughan Co.

c. 1941

Elmer Pratt joins the Massachusetts State Guard.

1941

The US enters World War II.

W.C. Vaughan manufactures torpedo parts for the war effort.

c. 1942

c. 1942

Elmer Pratt draws illustrations for a series of books about military weapons.

1944

Walter Vaughan retires; divides shares in W.C. Vaughan between Stafford Vaughan and Elmer Pratt.

1944

Stafford Vaughan becomes president of W.C. Vaughan.

1945

September 2: World War II ends.

1945

Walter Gropius forms TAC (The Architects Collaborative) with Norman Fletcher, John Harkness, and others.

Whitney Allen House (Garden)

1948

Maude French House

Hanover, NH

1949

E.H. and M.K. Hunter, Architects

The W.C. Vaughan Co., Manufacturer

1950

Vaughan Hardware, Catalog No. 26

c. 1950

1951

W.C. Vaughan loses 1 Haymarket Square to eminent domain; moves to 32–36 Pitts Street.

Catalog 34R: Vaughan Clearview

c. 1950s

Catalog 45: Emergency Exit Lock

c. 1950s

1957

The Boston Redevelopment Authority forces W.C. Vaughan’s move from Pitts Street to 77 Washington Street North.

Vaughan Hardware

c. 1960s

The Oldest House (González-Alvarez House)

St. Augustine, FL

1960

The W.C. Vaughan Co., Manufacturer

1964

Stafford Vaughan retires; Elmer Pratt becomes president of W.C. Vaughan.

Pierre S. du Pont IV House

Wilmington, DE

1964

Ike W. Colburn, Architect

The W.C. Vaughan Co., Manufacturer

1965

W.C. Vaughan hires Glenn Pratt.

National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton

Emmitsburg, MD

c. 1965

The W.C. Vaughan Co., Manufacturer

St. Matthew’s German Evangelical Lutheran Church

Charleston, SC

1965–1966

The W.C. Vaughan Co., Manufacturer

"Smoke Screen Doors Hinged to Pocket"

1966

1967

January 3: Walter Stafford Vaughan dies in Monterey, California.

c. 1969

Glen Pratt becomes Vice President of W.C. Vaughan.

1969

Walter Gropius dies.

Catalog No. 64R

c. 1970

Catalog No. 72: Classic Sample Collections

c. 1970s

Vaughan Hardware

List Price Book No. 1

c. 1970

Vaughan Clearview

Price Sheet #1 Applying to Catalog #34R

1970

Emergency Exit Lock #1636

1970

Cover Letter

1970

1972

Glen Pratt leaves W.C. Vaughan.

1975

Vaughan Hardware

Classic Collections

c. 1970s

1979

Elmer Pratt retires.

1981

Redstone Modern acquires the W.C. Vaughan Co.

1981

Marcel Breuer dies.

1986

Elmer Hale Pratt dies in Cohasset, MA.

1987

Elmer Pratt’s nephew Glenn Albert Pratt, former vice president of W.C. Vaughan, purchases the company from Redstone Modern and re-establishes the business in Braintree, Mass.

1992

E.R. Butler & Co. acquires Ostrander & Eshleman.

1993

E.R. Butler & Co. receives award form the American Institute of Architects (San Diego Chapter) for the Neurosciences Institute at the Scripps Research Institute, “in recognition of the outstanding contribution in design.”

1995

TAC ceases operation.

1999

E.R. Butler & Co. acquires the Quincy Manufacturing Co.

2000

2000

E.R. Butler & Co. merges with the W.C. Vaughan Co.

2012

May 7: Rhett Butler, of E.R. Butler & Co., receives the Arthur Ross Award for Artisanship from the Institute for Classical Architecture & Art.

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