very rare and completely intact late 19th century american victorian era varnished oak wood spiral molding interior residential fretwork panel or grille salvaged from a notable cleveland mansion demolished long ago. the highly sought after moorish style panel was designed and patented by moses y. ransom on september 15, 1885. the panel was likely fabricated around 1886-89 by the the c.s. ransom & co., cleveland, oh. the original stamped brass patent date plaque remains intact. twisted wood ornamentation or ropelike spiral turnings were often called "barley twist" for an english confection made with barley sugar in a similar shape. climbing vines, seashells, and animal horns may have been the initial inspiration for this decoration. in the united states the furniture manufacturing centers in new york, boston, cincinnati, chicago, philadelphia, and grand rapids, michigan, were vigilant in using the latest materials, methods, and styles. in cincinnati alone half a dozen companies were making millwork with spiral or barley twist legs. the first united states patent for a mechanized spiral turning machine was issued in 1856, and no fewer than fifty more were granted before the end of the nineteenth century. none of these patents went to george hunzinger (1835-1898) of new york city, whose name is virtually synonymous with the fanciful turned furniture made at the time. by contrast, two of the most inventive makers of spiral furniture are hardly credited at all. they are moses younglove ransom of cleveland and merklen brothers of new york city, whose distinctive designs and furniture are invariably misattributed to hunzinger. on october 28, 1884, moses ransom patented his version of a spiral molding lathe, and his father's company began to include "interiors" among their offerings. this first patent was for a machine that made very thin barley twist strands, which were then woven into screens resembling woven willow screens. the result was ransom's moorish fretwork. ransom's second patent granted on september 15, 1885, protected his most important ideas on how these turned strands could be assembled into panels to be used in fretwork, grilles, and furniture. in addition to smooth spiral strands, ransom made twisted strands that resemble an auger bit, but they were not as popular or durable as the smooth spirals. articles in trade journals and newspapers indicate that ransom was well known as an art furniture maker, although there is very little documentation of his actual furniture work. an advertisement in a trade journal in 1896 identifies ransom as the maker of a display in the john wanamaker department store in philadelphia. the display was partitioned entirely with moorish fretwork panels. small brass plates on the fretwork panels in the givin library, on the fire screen and on the folding screen all invoke the patent of september 15, 1885. although it appears that ransom made moorish fretwork from 1885 to 1898, his furniture work was apparently limited and concentrated toward the end of his active period. measures 42 x 14 inches.