PE Guerin is made in Manhattan the old-fashioned way
Hidden in plain sight in the middle of one of Manhattan’s most sought-after neighborhoods, this storied foundry has, since 1857, crafted architectural hardware for some of America’s finest homes (including its president’s home).
Let’s say you’re renovating your home and need handles for drawers, door hinges, or bathroom faucets. Of course you can go to Home Depot or Ace Hardware, like Joneses. But if you aspire to a more upscale and luxurious lifestyle, you may want to try a new option, or rather an old one.
with me Guerinthe only foundry in the United States that still handcrafts architectural hardware and furniture assemblies, has been designing and crafting exquisite fixtures since 1857. Since 1892 (the same year the Nutcracker premiered in St. Petersburg and Edison patented Two-way telegraph), B Guerin I worked, by appointment only, out of a building on a quiet block on Jane Street in New York’s West Village.
It is difficult to understand that this process, so old and volatile, takes place daily in a brick building in the densely populated West Village.
Guerins shiny products can be seen in some of them very Beautiful places. For example, Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Caroline, has sports equipment made by the company. The Gracie Mansion, the Polo Club, and the elegant, domed Williamsburgh Savings Bank, now known as WEYLIN, all have metalwork crafted by P.E. Guerin. If you choose to include the company’s devices in your home, you’ll join a list of clients that includes Henry Ford, Marjorie Meriwether Post, and John and Jacqueline Kennedy (who have chosen GuerinFinishes for the restoration of the White House in 1961).
Sand casting, metalworking process used to create polyethylene GuerinDevices and mounts have been around since 3000 BC. This technique, which involves pressing the mold design into sand and then pouring molten metal into the remaining detail cavity, has limitations. The most serious problem is that each sand mold is only valid for one use. But the benefits of sand casting – the sand itself is reusable, it easily withstands the intense heat of molten metal without breaking or cracking, its permeability allows vapors and heat to escape as the metal cools, and its flow and extreme grit are ideal for holding (and firing) complex designs – side superiority Passive for single use.
If you choose to include the company’s appliances in your home, you’ll join a list of clients that includes Henry Ford, Marjorie Meriwether Post, and John and Jacqueline Kennedy.
After the mold has completely cooled, the piece is taken out of the sand and, in a different part of the Jane Street building, finished by removing any burrs and channels left from the process, then polished, painted and subjected to curing. Additional carving and engraving, and finally, polished to a warm luster.
It is difficult to understand that this process, so old and volatile, takes place daily in a brick building in the densely populated West Village. Or accepting this red hot molten metal, poured into boxes filled with sand that has been impressed with the detailed undulations and ornate flourishes of designs, ultimately results in these lavish and intricate pieces, sought after by architects, designers, furniture makers and homeowners.
The showroom, quiet and peaceful (although the occasional bumping and clicking sounds can be heard from upstairs), is lined with glass-fronted cases displaying everything from Giacometti-inspired drawer handles and Empire-style bathtub faucets to cream door screws that It would look right at home in a chateau on the Loire River and have custom latches for library cabinets. Also on offer: One of these beautifully subdued Art Deco PE door handles Guerin Designed for 111 West 57th Street, it was completed in 2021 above the iconic Steinway Hall. A visit to the site revealed that these newly commissioned handles will join other PE Guerin devices dating back to the hall’s 1925 construction.
We’re used to talking about modern advances that disrupt traditional ways of doing things, but in this case, the traditional method of shaping and polishing products by hand feels like a welcome interruption to picking out machine-made fixtures at Lowe’s or ordering online from Amazon or Pottery Barn. Why don’t you go for gold?
