Pair of British Police Hiatt “D” Type Handcuffs with a Key c1920

Here on offer is a pair of British Police Hiatt “D” type handcuffs with their original early type of long “ribbed” key.

I find it difficult to accurately date these, but they have the earlier version of the “ribbed” key and as such I believe they are from around the 1920’s.

You can still just make out the Hiatt markings on them, being:

HIATT
BEST

WARRENTED
WROUGHT

HARD

They also seem to have the number 11 stamped on them too.

There is also some engraved writing on one of the barrels, that seems to end in “LARY”, which would be the name of the police constabulary that used them. I just can’t make out he name of which one it was.

This type of handcuff was first used in the Victorian era and by the 1850s it was recognised that they had serious shortcomings. Despite this, the design would continue in service for decades to come.

The basic problems were that they were very heavy, made from heavy duty iron and did not adjust to size so if you had someone with slim hands, they could slip them off and if you had someone with thick wrists, unless you had the correct size it was very difficult to put them on a prisoner.

The handcuffs were officially known as the ‘flexible’ type as they had a link between each cuff that allowed prisoners to eat and perform some simple tasks that earlier solid cuffs did not.

The handcuffs are in working order and are opened by screwing in the cylindrical key clockwise until the latch is released. They come with one original key that is stamped with the number 2.

They are in great condition with some minor loss of plating as shown in my photos.

They measure 9.7” (24.5cm) wide and have an approximate (inside) wrist diameter of 2.5” (6.5cm).

They weigh a heavy 415g.

Please see my pictures for the details of the condition, which complement this description.

Please see my TERMS OF BUSINESS regarding Deliver Charges and Insurance regarding additional insurance cover, should you require it, BEFORE the item is dispatched.

The responsibility lies with the customer to check with your Customs restrictions that this item can be imported into your country.

Thanks for taking the time to look.

Code: 52189