Seems that Mr Hiatt started making prisoner handcuffs, felon’s leg irons, gang chains and other horrible things for the slave trade back in 1780. Fortunately the slave trade ceased with the Act for Abolition in 1833, and it seems Mr Hiatt continued with handcuffs and slightly less nasty metal things. The company thrived however, and a hundred or so years later the metal technology of handcuffs was adapted to make karabiners, three fine examples of which we have here in the collection. We’re not 100% sure, but reckon these fellas date from the 1950s, a time when there was no requirement to stamp breaking strains on karabiners.

Hiatt went on the produce pitons and various other karabiners in conjunction with the British Mountaineering Council (BMC). We have excellent examples elsewhere in the collection.