Campaign Pulls from Londonderry Brasses

My credit card is groaning a bit thanks to all the hardware samples I’ve been ordering to find a selection of quality brasses for some Campaign-style pieces I’m building.

Today I received a chest pull that I ordered from Londonderry Brasses of Cochranville, Penn. I have some other pieces on order from Londonderry, but this one piece deserves its own blog entry.

This piece is sold as item number MIL10, and it’s a brass that is 3-7/8” long and 1-3/4” high. It looks and feels just like the hardware I’ve seen on original pieces I’ve inspected over the years, including the pieces my grandparents owned.

It’s heavy and has a gorgeous irregularity. There are slight voids in the casting. The pull in the backplate is slightly out of parallel with the opening. In other words, this is the sort of hardware that will frustrate the person who prizes consistency. But it will thrill the kind of person who would starve themselves and eat hardtack as a Civil War re-enactor.

I am that kind of nut job.

I don’t have any word on pricing for this piece – I’m still waiting for the bill.

— Christopher Schwarz

P.S. Thanks to Dr. Kent Adkins for getting me in touch with Nancy Anderson at Londonderry.