Life and Career
– Alfred Charles Hobbs was a skilled rogue who had extensive knowledge in his profession.
– He picked Bramah’s lock and the Chubb detector lock at the Great Exhibition of 1851, which prompted lock manufacturers to improve their designs.
– Hobbs became one of the founders of the lock making firm of Hobbs Hart & Co. Ltd.
– In 1860, he returned to America and lived in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he held patents for firearm ammunition manufacturing.
– In 1880, Hobbs listed himself as a Superintendent Of Cartridge Factory.
Publications
– Hobbs authored the book ‘Locks and Safes: The Construction of Locks,’ which was published by Virtue & Co., London, in 1853 (revised 1868).
Patents
– Hobbs held U.S. Patent 137,773 for improvements in Machines for Winding Wads (April 15, 1873).
– He also held U.S. Patent 135,913 for improvements in Cartridge Loading Machines (February 18, 1873).
Related Information
– Hobbs is associated with the Protector lock.
– References for further reading:
– Orcutt, Samuel. A history of the old town of Stratford and the city of Bridgeport Connecticut, Part II, p. 872-89 (1886).
– The New York Times, November 7, 1891: ‘Locks Yielded To Him.’
– Hutchinson Encyclopedia of Science.
– Vanderbilt, Tom. ‘The Lock Pickers.’ Slate. The Slate Group. Retrieved March 11, 2013.
– 1880 US Census; Bridgeport, Connecticut.Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._C._Hobbs
