The Art of the Lock: Inside the Secretive World of Locksport
In a personal essay featured in The New Yorker, the author shares her journey from a disheartened landlord in Brooklyn to an aspiring lock picker, ultimately leading to the unlocking of a 16th-century strongbox at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. After purchasing a rent-stabilized property, a contractor motivated her to explore lock picking. She found TOOOL (The Open Organization of Lockpickers) in Amsterdam, where she participated in meetings and met experts such as Jos Weyers and Rob Wiegertjes. The piece delves into the evolution of locks and the ethical principles of TOOOL. The story peaks with curator Ryan Krakowsky and blacksmith Kevin Moreau using a replica key to access a strongbox sealed since 1903, uncovering matches and a parcel. The author contemplates her altered views on security.
Key facts
- The author learned lock picking after buying a six-unit rent-stabilized building in Brooklyn.
- She discovered TOOOL (The Open Organization of Lockpickers), founded in Amsterdam, and attended a meeting in the Netherlands.
- Jos Weyers won first place at LockCon 2024 for lock impressioning, with one key made in under three minutes.
- The first pin-tumbler locks were designed by ancient Egyptians about 4,000 years ago.
- Linus Yale Jr. invented the modern pin-tumbler lock.
- In 1851, Alfred Charles Hobbs picked the Bramah Challenge Lock and the Chubb detector lock.
- The John M. Mossman Lock Collection in Manhattan houses bank and safe locks from the 1850s to early 1900s.
- At the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, a 16th-century strongbox was opened for the first time since 1903, revealing matches and a parcel.
Entities
Artists
- Jos Weyers
- Rob Wiegertjes
- Barry Wels
- David Churchill
- Charles Chubb
- Joseph Bramah
- Alfred Charles Hobbs
- Linus Yale Jr.
- Linus Yale Sr.
- James Sargent
- Tom Hennessy
- Steffen Wernéry
- Charles Courtney
- Richard Feynman
- Harry Houdini
- Ryan Krakowsky
- Kevin Moreau
- Dee Duarte
- George Damon
- Isabella Stewart Gardner
- Martin
Institutions
- The New Yorker
- Open Organization of Lockpickers (TOOOL)
- Nederlandse Vereniging van Hang- en Sluitsport
- University of Leeds
- Day & Newell
- Lock Museum of America
- John M. Mossman Lock Collection
- Rhode Island School of Design
- Harvard University
- Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
- F.B.I.
- NASA
- Royal Society of Arts
- U.S. Treasury Department
- Amazon
- YouTube
Locations
- Brooklyn
- United States
- Amsterdam
- Netherlands
- Poland
- London
- United Kingdom
- Paris
- France
- Connecticut
- Manhattan
- New York
- Boston
- Vermont
- Italy
- Persian Empire