fanciful antique american hemacite doorknob manufactured by the nashua lock co. (nashua, new hampshire). hemacite is a material made from sawdust and the blood of slaughtered animals cattle and pig. it was invented (and patented) by dr. w. h. dibble of new jersey in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. hydraulic pressure (40,000 psi) and chemical compounds, blood and sawdust were transformed by dibble's hemacite manufacturing company into everything from doorknobs and roller skate wheels to cash register buttons and telephone receivers; there is even extensive use in victorian jewelery. hemacite was inexpensive, but fell out of favor with the popularity of new plastics like bakelite. the doorknob was first available in nashua's 1879 hardware catalog. cast iron shank intact. measures 2 1/4 inches in diameter.