Victorian hardware. Seems like an oxymoron of sorts. Surely an era that gave us calling cards, Charles Dickens and Sunday Afternoon in the Park could not be linked to something as gauche as hardware, could it?
It could and it was, as promulgated by members of the Antique Doorknob Collectors of America, gathered last weekend at Elgin`s Ramada Inn for their 11th annual convention.
”It`s a unique art form in my mind,” said Leonard Blumin of Mill Valley, Calif., author of Victorian Decorative Art, a reference book on doorknob collecting. ”Most of us collect them because we think they`re significant pieces of artwork-but they`re also useful. The Victorians did that. They took a useful object and added ornamentation to it to make it pretty.”
Ray Zyc of Janesville, Wis., whose collection of brass, cut-glass, porcelain and ceramic knobs took the best of show award for the nicest display, has a more casual attitude. ”It`s a hobby just like anything else,” he said. ”We just get a kick out of buying doorknobs.”
Lil Balasi of Elgin, co-chair of the 200-plus member club, said the week- long conventions are also ”an opportunity for members to buy, trade and visit, and to introduce people to (doorknob collecting) and make them aware that there is such a thing.”
Maud L. Eastwood of Woodinville, Wash., a charter member of the club and author of ”The Antique Doorknob and Antique Builders` Hardware,” said knobs bearing monograms, logos and lion heads are the most coveted by collectors. Eastwood said prices range from $1 to $25, but they ”might go up to $50 if it`s a real unique knob.”
