Flashlight to Streetlight
Master locks, Carondelet St., New Orleans, LA.
Harry Soref, a traveling locksmith in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, had invented a lock for protecting military equipment. He originally founded the "Master Key" company for making master skeleton keys. In 1919, Soref invented a padlock design that used laminated steel layers to economically produce an exceptionally strong lock body. He tried unsuccessfully to get large companies interested in using his design, when that failed he recruited financial backing from two friends, P. E. Yolles and Sam Stahl, which began the Master Lock company in 1921. In the early years he produced the locks himself, initially with five employees. In 1924, he was granted the first patent on such a laminated lock design. He led the company to become a major manufacturer of locks before his death in 1957. However, the brand had not yet reached its peak status as an familiar consumer brand at the time of his death. Sam Stahl, one of the original investors, then led the company until he also died in 1964. The Soref family then took over the company management, later selling the company to the American Brands
Corporation in 1970.
Master locks, Carondelet St., New Orleans, LA.
Harry Soref, a traveling locksmith in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, had invented a lock for protecting military equipment. He originally founded the "Master Key" company for making master skeleton keys. In 1919, Soref invented a padlock design that used laminated steel layers to economically produce an exceptionally strong lock body. He tried unsuccessfully to get large companies interested in using his design, when that failed he recruited financial backing from two friends, P. E. Yolles and Sam Stahl, which began the Master Lock company in 1921. In the early years he produced the locks himself, initially with five employees. In 1924, he was granted the first patent on such a laminated lock design. He led the company to become a major manufacturer of locks before his death in 1957. However, the brand had not yet reached its peak status as an familiar consumer brand at the time of his death. Sam Stahl, one of the original investors, then led the company until he also died in 1964. The Soref family then took over the company management, later selling the company to the American Brands
Corporation in 1970.