Herring- Hall -Marvin Safe Co. Safe

The Hall's Safe & Lock Company was an American manufacturer responsible for half of the locks, safes, and bank vaults throughout the second half of the 19th century. Incorporated by Joseph L. Hall in 1867, after going through a series of five different businesses and business partners, the Hall's Safe & Lock Co. of Cincinnati, Ohio quickly grew to become the largest safe and vault manufacturer in the world with officers throughout the United States and much of the rest of the world. At this time the factory in Cincinnati was only "100 feet square and two stories high". One of the firm's earliest employees, Henry Gross, was granted a patent for a combination lock that would become known as the Hall Premier in 1869 that positioned Hall for competition against the leading lock manufacturers of the time.

After the Chicago fires of October 1871, Hall's safes were the only ones “proven to be secure”, protecting their contents inside through fires that lasted for as much as ten days. As a result, the company began to grow immensely in both reputation and size. After over a decade of controlling the market, in March 1889 Joseph L. Hall died from a heart attack with his eldest son Edward C. Hall, Sr. took over as president, and, though the company continued to grow, the Hall family looked to sell the business. In 1892, they would accomplish that goal through the formation and merging of 5 firms to form the Herring-Hall-Marvin Company.

The safe on display demonstrates the craftsmanship of the company. Made around the 1920s and weighing in at least about half a ton or more. The 2.36 inches of steel casing protects the valuables that would be inside organized into various interior shelves. The valuables would be protected by an internal door guarded with a combination lock, that was then guarded by 6.69 inches of external door guarded by another combination lock.