1910-1920's Vintage Era McCaskey Safe Register from Chatfield, MN Business STEEL

Description

1910-1920's Vintage Era McCaskey Safe Register from Chatfield, MN Business STEEL
1910-1920's Vintage Era McCaskey Safe Register from Chatfield, MN Business STEEL
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Description
1910's-1920's Vintage Era McCaskey Safe Register from Chatfield, Minnesota Business
LOCAL PICKUP in Cresco, Iowa ONLY!!!
HEAVY STEEL SAFE!
Here we have a 1920’s era McCaskey Safe Register.  This item is essentially a
SAFE
that was built to hold a cash register
AND
a registry of the business’ accounts.  Essentially the first “credit” system created, this McCaskey Safe Register is in remarkable condition for being around 90 years old, and could DEFINITELY be restored fairly easily.  We’ve seen the cash boxes that go inside these fairly regularly here on eBay (see listing #120875337068 for one that is currently listed),  but we’ve NEVER seen another Safe Register like this one.  Ours does not come with a cash box that would go inside.
This Safe Register is a TANK – it weighs at LEAST 100 pounds (maybe 150 pounds -- that’s why it’s available for pickup ONLY!).  This came from an estate sale in the town of Chatfield
,
Minnesota
, and the owner told us that it was used in a local business there in Chatfield “back in the day.”  The person who owned the building where that business was housed found the safe buried in a corner of an upstairs room that hadn’t been used in decades.  Several last names common to Chatfield exist on the entry tabs on the first metal file “page” of the registry, and I’m sure a few quick local historical lookups of the names shown in the register could demonstrate the validity of the 1920’s to 1930’s date range when these Safe Registers were regularly in use.  In addition to that, the patent dates shown on the front placard on the safe range from
October 10, 1899
through
November 24, 1914.  So, this safe COULD have been made and used as early as the mid-1910’s.
We’ve heard a couple different stories about how these were used -- the first, we already mentioned above – they were used to keep track of customer “charge” accounts in businesses LONG before computers were available to keep track of accounts for the store owner.  We’ve also heard that these were used as a payroll system, especially in the military – each soldier’s paycheck would be held in one of the clips, and his name in the registry in front would tell the clerk which metal “page” of the registry to look under to find that soldier’s check.  Soldiers would walk single file through a line to get their checks, and the clerk would hand each one out using the registry system to quickly locate each one.  I’m not as certain about this use, but it could also be possible.
The last photo shows a 1921 advertisement for the McCaskey Way – “One Writing” – their advertised method of keeping track of credit-based businesses – and it features the same style of Safe Register we are offering for sale here – 90-some years later!
This is quite a rare type of safe, and very hard to find.  Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to own a unique piece of early 1900’s history.  We do not have a key for this safe, but I’m almost certain that a knowledgeable locksmith could make one for you for a modest fee.
Good luck bidding, and please check out our
store
and our
other items
!!  We have s
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ething for most every taste and budget!!
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