lightly polished original early 20th century american antique ornamental cast yellow brass emblematic chicago city hall interior office door hardware designed and fabricated by yale & towne, and later, the sargent hardware company, new haven, ct. the heavily ornamented neoclassical style backplates or escutcheons contain the city seal of chicago in great detail. the matching doorknobs with sunken centers are adorned with bayleaf borders. the exterior backplate, mounted on the side of the door facing the hallway, contains a circular opening where a cylinder lock was once installed. the polished finish has mellowed over the years, leaving a warm and mostly uniform surface patina. since 1853, the governments of chicago and cook county have shared three different buildings on this site. the monumental, classical revival-style exterior of the present structure, which was designed to be a functional and efficient office building, symbolizes the strength, dignity, and vigor of the governmental functions it contains. the county building was completed in 1908; city hall was finished in 1911. the architectural firm was holabird and roche. yale & towne fabricated the hardware for the first phase of construction (i.e., cook county building). the sargent hardware company likely outfitted city hall by replicating and/or using the original molds from the earlier commission. backplates measure 13 1/4 x 3 1/2 inches. priced for the set. the neoclassical style hardware has been mounted to a custom-built solid cherry wood plaque with beveled edges.