Locksmith
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Le Serrurier | The Locksmith
15th-Century Locksmith ("Hans schelhamer, slosser", 1451 drawing (artist unknown) appearing in Hausbuch der Mendelschen Zwölfbrüderstiftung, Wikimedia Commons).
The serrurier, or locksmith, was an artisan who specialized in the construction of locks.
In existence for well over 2,500 years, locks were initially constructed out of wood and later out of metal. The locksmiths would make the entire lock, hand-cutting all the parts and filing them down. In medieval France, makers of locks were divided into two classes: iron locksmiths and copper locksmiths. Copper locksmiths were specialized in making fine locks, destined for caskets, as well as elegant chests of all kinds. Over the centuries, the delicate art of locksmithing slowly declined, as tools improved.
In addition to locks, locksmiths also made pieces necessary for framing, anchors, crampons, bolts; iron household utensils, latches, hinges, pivots, locks, as well as railings.
By the 1900s, designs and mechanisms became much more complicated, and many locksmiths specialized in repairing or designing locks.
The locksmith was one of 7 main occupations in New France relating to metalwork, the others being the blacksmith, the coppersmith, the tinsmith, the gunsmith, the edge-tool maker, and the arquebusier.
Derived from this occupation, the surname Serrurier is very common in Canada today.
Source: Alfred Franklin, Dictionnaire historique des arts, métiers et professions exercés dans Paris depuis le treizième siècle (Paris, H. Welter, 1906), 642-643.