Five Awards at the World’s Columbian Exposition

In 1893, we exhibited our locks at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago and received five awards for our products. The recognition came more than three decades after Wilson Bohannan began making padlocks in Brooklyn and at a time when the business had expanded into its Lexington Avenue factory. A contemporary company catalogue published the following year prominently recorded “Five Medals Awarded” alongside its reference to the World’s Fair Columbian exhibit. The awards provided outside recognition for the locks we were manufacturing and selling to commercial and industrial customers during this period. The 1894 catalogue, issued shortly after the exposition, documented an extensive range that included bronze spring padlocks, combination and key-operated locks, and other locking hardware