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The teapot hook fastener was a type of sash lock produced from 1880 to 1910. An innovation in 1889 changed the design of the teapot hook fastener, resulting in two major varieties.
The original teapot hook fastener was introduced in 1880 (Strelinger hardware catalog, page 176). The rotating part of the lock had the rough shape of a teapot (see photo below). The lid of the teapot was fixed. One end of the teapot had a tab that could be depressed to unlock the device and allow it to be turned 90 degrees, causing the spout to engage with a hook mounted on the upper sash. The first phase of the teapot hook fastener appeared in hardware catalogs from 1880 until 1888 (Dunham 1888, page 183).
Illustration of the teapot hook fastener in the open position.
Illustration of the teapot hook fastener in the closed position.
The second phase of the teapot hook fastener extended from 1889 to 1910. This phase is called the Ives design because Thomas S. Smith of the Hobart B. Ives and Co. received a patent for the design in 1889 (patent #398549). In the Ives teapot design, the tab operating the rotation was the top part of the teapot, and the spout was a middle section that rotated in a dependent manner. The tab could rotate 180 degrees: the first 90 degrees of movement turned the spout into the catch, and the second 90 degrees locked the device. The Ives design was often shown in catalogs with the tab at a 90 degree angle from the spout since this depiction emphasized the difference with the initial teapot design.
Illustration of the Ives teapot hook fastener in the closed (not locked) position.
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