Major Types of Sash Hardware

Name

Hook Sash Lift

Category

Sash Lifts

Duration

1865-1950

Last Modified

2021-06-25

Info

Hook lifts emerged around the time of the Civil War. They were attached to the lower rail of a window sash to assist in opening the window. Lifts became necessary because the increasing size of window panes and window sashes resulted in an increase in the weight of sashes and difficulty in pushing up on the meeting rail of the lower sash. Hook lifts appeared as early as the Sargent hardware catalog of 1869:


1869 Sargent hardware catalog, page 96.

Hook lifts were often produced with Eastlake decoration in the final two decades of the nineteenth century (see below). The term "hook lift" was not in frequent use but did appear in the 1927 Woodwell hardware catalog. Hook lifts remained in production into the mid-twentieth century.