Segal Inventions Will Be On View During Historical Society Open House

Two ordinary store door hinges did it: They were the items that gave Samuel Segal the idea for inventing the Segal jimmy-proof deadlatch, an invention that has been a major seller in the lock and key industry for nearly 100 years.

A display of inventions by Mr Segal will be featured this weekend during an open house at The Matthew Curtiss House. Headquarters for Newtown Historical Society, the house is at 44 Main Street. The open house will be on Sunday, April 9, from 1 to 4 pm.

Mr Segal, who was born in Russia, was brought to the United States when he was 8 years old. Although he was a young man of exceptional mechanical ability, by the age of 17 he could not read or write. It was while working as a night watchman at a movie theater that he taught himself how to read and write.

A large and muscular man, Mr Segal thought he would make a good policeman. He failed the written test twice, however. He studied harder and finally passed on his third attempt.

One night while on his beat in New York City, the brawny young man noticed that a door had six locks on one side and only two hinges. He thought he saw a way to make that better and began to create a lock that worked like a hinge.

Making parts by hand and testing them, he spent long hours planning the lock. From this idea and conception evolved the Segal hinge-type lock.

After the Segal Lock Company proved successful, Mr Segal continued to use his mechanical and technical genius to create a number of other inventions in a number of other fields.

Many of these inventions will be on display at Matthew Curtiss House this weekend. John Glaberson, Mr Segal’s grandson, has been collecting many of the things his grandfather invented including springs, ball bearings, roller skates that record mileage, a one-piece razor, ladies’ compacts with a place for a hidden key, and of course, a Segal hinge-type lock.

Mr Glaberson is something of a mechanical genius himself. He is president of Designs Work Group in Sandy Hook, and has great expertise in analog electronics, optics, magnetics, sensors, transducers, optical instruments, computer peripherals, consumer electronics, and audio. He holds six patents.

Mr Gladerson will be on hand to talk about his grandfather’s work and answer questions. Costumed docents will be at the Curtiss House to offer tours and answer questions about the building’s history.

Matthew Curtiss House is at 44 Main Street. Call 426-5937 for additional information.