Intricate handles by L. Pinet

sewshiny · Jul 20, 2016

Can anyone help me identify the maker & age of these handles? I bought them a number of years ago from a little antique shop in Bay St. Louis. They weigh 6.6 & 6.8 oz and are both 5 1/2" x2 1/2". I think they are brass, but they don't have much tarnish. They have decorative engravings on the front & back & all parts are engraved with L. Pinet. The back of the handles have a small C engraved on them. Kind of fascinating to me that someone would go to such lengths to sign & engrave the backs when they must have been attached to something at one time. If anyone knows anything about these handles or L.Pinet please share.
thanks,
ava

RobRieman · Jul 20, 2016

Those are engraved in the mold before casting.

kcm · Jul 20, 2016

Something seems a bit off with those. They look new. Everything I've looked up concerning L. Pinet hardware has ALL had an aged look - which works out well, as the pieces are supposed to be 100+ years old. These look new. Reproductions?

sewshiny · Jul 21, 2016

I cleaned them and sprayed a clear laquer on them because I had them on sliding doors on a house we owned. They were not very corroded though, just dusty & dirty. I found them close to 20 years ago. Can you share where you found the info on L. Pinet?

thanks for replies,
ava

kcm · Jul 21, 2016

"Info"? There IS no apparent info on L.Pinet! It's as though nobody ever knew him. Spooky! :laughing7:

However, the holes in your handles are tapered, which looks to be for a more modern type of screw. Slotted flat head screws have been around for a very long time, but in the early screws, the angle of the head was rather sharp - not nearly as gentle as modern screws. This looks (to me) like a modern reproduction.

(about 3 hours later...)
Finally thought to do an image search for "L.Pinet hardware". I use the Bing search engine for images. Notice the holes in the listed antique hardware - they are just that....holes. No countersinking at all. I think that's what was most confusing me all this time.

I'm no expert(!!!) and I could very well be wrong about this, but I believe those to be reproductions. I can't find enough information on L.Pinet to get a grasp of the history there. About all I can find are existing samples of his (now) antique hardware. In any case, I have to stop looking. Eating into my monthly data allotment too much. :BangHead:

Another thing....on all of the really old pull handles I can remember (which isn't saying much! :tongue3:

), the handles were solid. Yours has a design on the face, but is hollow on the back side of the handle. I think that is also a key that the piece is not antique. But again, I'm not an expert!