Regency Reader Questions: Key Cabinet

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Thanks for the question, Steve659, and for being a Regency Reader!

We shared some information in the past about the Regency and keys here:

Regency Reader Questions: Keys, Servants, and Late Nights

Regency Reader Questions: House Keys and Reticules

In contemporary literature and instructionals from the early 19th century, it is evident that servants (one or more) were typically in charge of keys that locked doors, cabinets, etc with the caveat that the master or mistress may hold on to one or two keys to lock valuables or private items contained in a safe, desk, or other storage box. Here are some excerpts that support this conclusion:

When ordered to lock or unlock any door cabinet or drawers be careful to make use of the right key and if by chance you should put in a wrong one and find it not turn ea fily never attempt to force it if it does not turn very easy try another Forcing a lock is the ready way to break it In locking up a filk gown or a laced apron no part should be left hanging out of the drawer care should be taken to place it fo far within that the bolt of the lock does not make a hole in it Whoever is appointed to scour the locks on the chamber or other room doors whe ther the chamber maid or house maid if keys are left in fuch locks damp weather will fometimes ruft them to prevent this when the lock is scowered the key should be taken out and rubbed and put in again

Domestic Management: Or the Art of Conducting a Family; with Instructions to Servants in General. Addressed to Young Housekeepers. (1800). United Kingdom: printed, for H. D. Symonds.

Then addressing the domestic he told her to bring him all the keys she had and he would soon point out the wine cellar key from its peculiar shape The woman brought him a bunch of rusty keys but he could not find the one he wanted and asked her if those were all she had She replied that those were the keys of all the rooms in the house except the vault where the well was and that her late master had always kept himself The door of that vault was locked and they had not been able to find the key since the old gentleman's disappearance Why there it is now you see The wine cellar is on the left hand side of the well vault I think I ought to know for many and many a bottle have I managed to get out of it notwithstanding the old man's care of his keys The Ladies’ Cabinet of Fashion, Music, and Romance. (1848). United Kingdom: G. Henderson, Old Bailey.

What keys The keys of your cabinet desk drawers and whatever else you possess said he rising and holding out his hand I ve not got them I replied The key of my desk in fact was at that moment in the lock and the others were attached to it Then you must send for them said he and if that old devil Rachel doesn t immediately deliver them up she tramps bag and baggage to morrow She doesn t know where they are I answered quietly placing my hand upon them and taking them from the desk as I thought unobserved I know but I shall not give them up without a reason THE TENANT OF WILDFELL HALL 285 Brontë, A. (1800). The tenant of Wildfell hall, by Acton Bell. by A. Brontë. United Kingdom: (n.p.).

One evening as Lira lay reclined on her sofa she was seized with a vio lent head ache to assuage which she wanted to apply a kind of distilled water which was reckoned an excellent remedy for such disorders but being distracted with the pain she gave her husband without a thought the key of a little cabinet where the bottle was which held this water Alcouz who tenderly loved his wife ran to the cabinet but he was no sooner gone than Taher was surprised to see his mistress tearing her hair Ah said she my life my dear love we are utterly ruined My im prudence will become the future source of our misfortunes I have been so thoughtless as to give my husband the key of my cabinet where all the letters lie in which you have expressed the liveliness of your passion Al couz in his rage will doubtless spare neither his wife nor his friend Select Novels. (1816). United Kingdom: T. Kelly.

Many households in the Victorian era, and even before, had a housekeeper or servant responsible for the keys. The housekeeper commonly wore what is called a chatelaine, which was a decorative bell hook from which a series of chains with keys could be hung (The Keeper of the Keys).

I started to find mention of key cabinets toward the end of the 19th century:

M getting to be quite a connoisseur of hotel keys as I get older For ten years I have been collecting these mementoes of travel and cording them away in my key cabinet Some have square brass tags attached to them others have round ones Still others affect the octagonal the fluted the hexagonal the scalloped the plain the polished the docorated the chaste the Etruscan the metropolitan the rural the cosmopolitan the shirred the tucked the biased the high neck and long sleeve or the decolette style of brass check Nye, E. W. (1887). Remarks. United States: (n.p.).

the sulphocyanate of potassa THE KEY CABINET If there is any one thing that is more frequently lost than another it is doubtless a key We may judge that it is so by the repeated advertisements for lost keys To go to business without the keys of our desks or to come home and find that they have been left at the office is often the cause of great delay In future this is likely to be obviated by the use of the Key Cabinet the invention of Bradford & Co 63 Fleet Street Each key having a brass label numbered attached to it is hung on a hook in the cabinet which has affixed to it a corresponding number On unlocking the cabinet a portion of the front falls down on the inside of which is a register tablet with similar numbers and with spaces to write in the depart ment to which each key belongs This very useful cabinet has a lock so that all the keys are under one master and in closing it it locks itself Family Herald. (1869). United Kingdom: G. Biggs.

structed and the cans are made to hold from velope is neatly and strongly made and affords one to ten gallons thorough and entire protection to anything mailed in it INK CAN CLOSED A key cabinet is made of satin wood the doors ornamented with dangling keys and ribbons inlaid in mother of pearl The inside of the cabinet is lined with pale green velvet while over every hook a silver plate bears the name of the key belonging to it Ornamental slipper bags are now made of Indian game baskets whose peculiar construc tion gives plenty of room for a pair of slippers on either side and a handle to hold the odd arching affair in place The American Stationer. (1887). United States: Howard Lockwood.

KEY CABINET WOOD PAINTING Fig 1 and 2 This cabinet is made of walnut wood in the usual simple manner its height and breadth being shown in fig 1 and its depth by the sectional fig 2 To prevent the door panel from warping it is strengthened on both sides with veneer 1 32 inch thick walnut being used in front and maple at the back The door can be painted with water colors in two ways either by taking advantage of the texture of the wood or by means of body color Both methods will be minutely described later on This pattern would also be well adapted for inlaid and encaustic work The Amateur: Ill. Suppl. for Fret, Carved and Inlaid Work, Painting on Wood and Other Similar Domest. Arts. (1888). (n.p.): (n.p.).

That is not to say that key cabinets did not exist before the mid to late 1800s, just that they did not appear to be mass produced or commonplace.  Alternatively, they were so commonplace as to not be remarked upon…but I kind of think it was more likely, due to the history of keys (see past posts) that there wasn’t enough volume to necessitate a cabinet, and a chatelaine or similar device worked well.

I did find some Victorian examples on various auction websites to offer:

Superb Rare Early Victorian Rosewood Key Cabinet

Lot – 19th Century Key Cabinet

A Victorian Oak Key Cabinet C1880.

Based on the extant examples, I would say there was a variety of styles reflecting the tastes, wealth, and number of keys one had to manage.

Thanks for the opportunity to travel down this interesting rabbit hole, and I hope the above helps with your replica (and that you will share a picture with us when complete!).

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2 Responses to Regency Reader Questions: Key Cabinet

  1. impossiblyvoid1664e1561c says:
    April 12, 2025 at 12:32 pm

    Brilliant research as always! Thanks:) ~Joy

    Reply

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