{"product_id":"brass-speakeasy-door-knocker-with-eagle-and-wreath-grille-colonial-revival-c-1930-1960","title":"Brass Speakeasy Door Knocker with Eagle and Wreath Grille, Colonial Revival, c. 1930–1960","description":"\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Piece\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003eA substantial cast brass entry set that does three jobs at once — knocker, viewing grille, and peep door — and looks handsome doing all of them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThe backplate is shaped in the Colonial Revival manner: a broken-scroll pediment at the top and a pierced fleur-de-lis apron at the bottom, both cut clean through so the profile reads as silhouette against the door. Set into the center is a rectangular frame carrying the \u003cstrong\u003espeakeasy grille\u003c\/strong\u003e, and behind it a solid inner door swings on its own pair of knuckle hinges, so the occupant can open the little door and speak through the grille without opening the main one.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThe grille panel is where the design lives: a finely stippled ground, an \u003cstrong\u003eAmerican eagle with outspread wings above a laurel wreath\u003c\/strong\u003e in raised relief, and small four-petal rosettes at the lower corners. The knocker itself is a hinged brass bar that swings from the top and strikes the plate.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThe visible faces have been polished bright to a warm yellow gold; the reverse retains its untouched surface, dark and lightly verdigris'd in the recesses.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHistory \u0026amp; Provenance\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThe speakeasy grille is one of the most literal pieces of hardware ever made — a small hinged door at eye level so you can see and speak to a caller before deciding to let them in. The form is old, descending from monastery and fortress wickets, but it entered the American house in force during the \u003cstrong\u003eColonial Revival\u003c\/strong\u003e, the movement that dominated domestic architecture from roughly 1900 through the 1950s and dressed new houses in the vocabulary of the eighteenth century.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThe decoration is that movement's signature. The \u003cstrong\u003eeagle above a laurel wreath\u003c\/strong\u003e is the Federal emblem, drawn from the Great Seal and used relentlessly on Colonial Revival hardware, mirrors, and mantels as shorthand for American patriotic classicism. The broken-scroll pediment on the backplate is borrowed straight from a Chippendale highboy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThe name attached to the grille is not accidental. The Prohibition-era slang for a hidden bar came from exactly this piece of hardware — the little door you had to be recognized through — and hardware catalogs have called them speakeasy grilles ever since.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eProduct Details\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv dir=\"ltr\" class=\"overflow-x-auto w-full pl-[var(--msg-block-inset,0.5rem)] pr-2 mb-6 print:overflow-x-visible\"\u003e\n\u003ctable class=\"min-w-full border-collapse text-sm leading-[1.7] whitespace-normal\"\u003e\n\u003cthead class=\"text-left\"\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth scope=\"col\" class=\"text-text-100 border-b-0.5 border-[hsl(var(--border-300)\/0.6)] py-2 pr-4 align-top font-bold\"\u003eField\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003cth scope=\"col\" class=\"text-text-100 border-b-0.5 border-[hsl(var(--border-300)\/0.6)] py-2 pr-4 align-top font-bold\"\u003eDetail\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/thead\u003e\n\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"border-b-0.5 border-[hsl(var(--border-300)\/0.3)] py-2 pr-4 align-top\"\u003eObject\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"border-b-0.5 border-[hsl(var(--border-300)\/0.3)] py-2 pr-4 align-top\"\u003eDoor knocker with speakeasy grille and viewing door\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"border-b-0.5 border-[hsl(var(--border-300)\/0.3)] py-2 pr-4 align-top\"\u003eOrigin\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"border-b-0.5 border-[hsl(var(--border-300)\/0.3)] py-2 pr-4 align-top\"\u003eAmerican\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"border-b-0.5 border-[hsl(var(--border-300)\/0.3)] py-2 pr-4 align-top\"\u003eMaterial\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"border-b-0.5 border-[hsl(var(--border-300)\/0.3)] py-2 pr-4 align-top\"\u003eSolid cast brass\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"border-b-0.5 border-[hsl(var(--border-300)\/0.3)] py-2 pr-4 align-top\"\u003eDecoration\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"border-b-0.5 border-[hsl(var(--border-300)\/0.3)] py-2 pr-4 align-top\"\u003eEagle above laurel wreath in relief on stippled ground; corner rosettes; broken-scroll pediment and pierced fleur-de-lis apron\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"border-b-0.5 border-[hsl(var(--border-300)\/0.3)] py-2 pr-4 align-top\"\u003eForm\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"border-b-0.5 border-[hsl(var(--border-300)\/0.3)] py-2 pr-4 align-top\"\u003eShaped backplate with hinged grille panel, hinged inner door, and swinging knocker bar\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"border-b-0.5 border-[hsl(var(--border-300)\/0.3)] py-2 pr-4 align-top\"\u003eEra\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"border-b-0.5 border-[hsl(var(--border-300)\/0.3)] py-2 pr-4 align-top\"\u003ec. 1930–1960\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"border-b-0.5 border-[hsl(var(--border-300)\/0.3)] py-2 pr-4 align-top\"\u003eCondition\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"border-b-0.5 border-[hsl(var(--border-300)\/0.3)] py-2 pr-4 align-top\"\u003eVery good. Solid and heavy with all components present; both hinges and the knocker bar operating freely and the inner door closing correctly. Visible faces polished bright; reverse retains original untouched surface with light verdigris in the recesses. Casting crisp throughout with no cracks, losses, or repairs. Mounting holes present. Condition Guaranteed.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"border-b-0.5 border-[hsl(var(--border-300)\/0.3)] py-2 pr-4 align-top\"\u003eAvailability\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"border-b-0.5 border-[hsl(var(--border-300)\/0.3)] py-2 pr-4 align-top\"\u003eOne of a Kind — 1 Available\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhy It Belongs in Your Home\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003eDoor hardware is the one thing in a house that every single visitor touches, and almost nobody upgrades. A cast brass speakeasy knocker turns an ordinary front door into an entrance — it announces the house before anyone is inside it, and it costs a fraction of what a comparable new one does from a reproduction hardware supplier.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003eIt genuinely works, too. The grille and inner door still do what they were made for, which is more than most decorative hardware can claim. On a solid front door, a garden gate, or a studio entrance it's both useful and handsome, and the brass will keep warming as it weathers — polished bright if you like it that way, or left to go soft brown and green, which is arguably better.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Viridian Eclection","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47934285119593,"sku":"VE-1331","price":281.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0651\/0093\/9369\/files\/brass_speakeasy_door_knocker_with_eagle_and_wreath_grille_colonial_revival_c._19301960942031975229736231391019113.jpg?v=1787622889","url":"https:\/\/viridianeclection.com\/products\/brass-speakeasy-door-knocker-with-eagle-and-wreath-grille-colonial-revival-c-1930-1960","provider":"Viridian Eclection","version":"1.0","type":"link"}