Griswold made much more than just a line of cookware.
Did you know that Griswold also made, and held the patent for, a burglar alarm? I didn’t think so.
Inventors John Harvey and David Shields obtained a patent in 1894 for the gadget, and the patent was assigned to Matthew Griswold, founder of the Griswold Mfg. Co. I’ve only seen two; both in the (huge) collection of Larry and Marg O’Neil of Tacoma, Washington.
![](https://griswoldcookware.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/BurgAlarm-page-001-400x680-1.jpg)
![](https://griswoldcookware.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/BurgAlarm-page-002-697x1024-1.jpg)
This burglar alarm was designed to be screwed into a door casing. If an unannounced person opened the door when the alarm was set, a blank cartridge to explode.
That would be a very nasty surprise for the would-be burglar!
![Griswold burglar alarm and patent](https://griswoldcookware.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GrisBurglarAlarm1.jpg)