remarkably well-designed and finely cast original 19th century antique american ornamental solid bronze metal doorknob backplate or escutcheon designed and fabricated by the metallic compression casting company and/or the russell & erwin mfg. co., new britain, ct. the intricately detailed oversized backplate retains the original swinging keyhole cover plate. the thimble has the patent date lightly incised along the outer edge. the recessed regions of the backplate show sporadic oxidation. the backplate or escutcheon was often paired with some of the finest figural doorknobs fabricated by mccc/re. dates to the early 1870's. the metallic compression casting company manufactured "house trimmings," such as knobs, hinges, escutcheons, bell pulls, along with dies for printing wall paper, and for bookbinders. the highly successful inventions of charles and michael smith during the 1860's, were used extensively at their foundry in bomerville, near boston, mass. the two founders (j.j. c. smith, president and jesse a. locke, treasurer) revolutionized metallurgic art, so far as fine casting is concerned. by employing the patented process developed by smith and mason, metal was taken from the mould, not with a rough surface, as in all the earlier known modes of casting, but as smooth and perfectly finished as a coin or medal struck by a die. very little is actually known or documented about this short-lived company. catalogs containing product and the like have yet to be found. the hardware giant russell & erwin company quickly recognized this market and soon after became sole agents for their hardware. numerous design patents were secured by both the metallic compression casting company and russell & erwin in 1870. some of the most sought after doorknobs (e.g., "lion" and "dog") were designed and patented by ludwig kreuzinger for the metal compression casting and/or russell erwin mfg. nearly all of the patented designs quickly appeared in russell & erwin's builders' hardware catalogs soon after. by 1872 the struggling metallic compression casting company filed for bankruptcy (district courts of the united stated, massachusetts district) and russell & erwin absorbed the company, including their foundry located outside of boston. the metallic compression casting company was dissolved.