Door Furniture Materials

You will find period house door furniture in a variety of materials.

Cast iron was popular pre-1850, but was then replaced largely by brass, polished rather than lacquered. The Gothic movement in the Victorian period sneered at the use of cast iron, and favoured wrought iron, though the Arts and Crafts movement brought cast iron back into favour.

From 1900 and the Edwardian era, more use was made of black door furniture; at a time of a shortage of domestic staff it required less polishing and the increased admiration for craft styles meant that wrought iron was popular. The house number was often on a black on white enamel plate.

brass	Brass could be solid or hollow, i.e. pressed.
black-painted cast iron
wrought iron
glass
ceramic, plain or painted
copper	Copper was used in the same way as brass, or may be a plated finish over another metal.
enamel	Used for house name and number plates.