Name/Title
Field and Sons "Darby" handcuffs c1876-1886Entry/Object ID
751Description
Darby style nickel plated handcuffs, stamped " Field & Sons", with key stamped "Hiatt No.6"Use
To restrain prisoners.Context
These type of fixed handcuffs are known as "Darbies" or "D" cuffs. "Darbies" is a 17th century word used to refer to all types of hand/wrist restraints and "D" refers to the shape of this style. This type, which were made by various makers, do not have a lock in the strictest sense as they have a simple bolt which is released by screwing in the "key". This simple robust design probably explains why these type of handcuffs were in use for over 100 years.
These particular handcuffs are stamped "Field & Sons". Field (also known as Parker and Parker Field), was a London firm of gunsmiths and sword makers, who supplied police equipment throughout the 19th century. They are particularly famous for supplying decorated truncheons. They used the name "Parker Field and Sons" from at least 1876 until 1886. After this date the company appears to have ceased trading.
On this basis it is estimated that the handcuffs pictured date from 1876 to1886.
It is thought that Field, may have only been the suppliers of many of the items they sold and that their handcuffs and possibly their truncheons may have actually been made by Hiatt, a Birmingham based manufacturer. Not too much should be made of the fact that these have a "Hiatt" key, as these were often interchangeable between makers and could have come originally from another pair.
Though there is no provenance with this particular pair, similar "Field & Sons" handcuffs are thought to have been used in the police forces of Sussex in the 19th century, as a number of pairs have come directly from Sussex Police. "D" cuffs remained in use with many police forces until the 1960s when they began to be replaced with more modern ratchet handcuffs.