Niles Chicago Jet Black Antique Doorknobs

Sometimes called porcelain doorknobs these are not porcelain at all.  They are made of pottery clay which is then fired with a black glaze. Because of the unique shaft these doorknobs will not fit standard mortise locks.  This line of hardware was made by the Chicago Hardware Company with the lock design patented by Milton & Sidney Niles in 1878 and 1880.  The design allows for doorknobs to be installed without a spindle and is now referred to as “Niles Chicago”.  There were minor changes to the design subsequent to the patents but what remains the same is that the locks, doorknobs and escutcheon plates are all constructed to work with this design only.  They cannot be interchanged with other hardware manufacturers’ products.

The knobs are in excellent antique condition with some normal light scratching and flea bites to the glazed surface.  As you can see from the photo, there is nothing substantial.  Bits of the original gold/brown varnish is still on the shafts but it would be below the doorknob collar and not visible.

Although there are two in the photo these knobs are sold individually. The number In Stock above shows how many I have available.
 
2-1/4” diameter