Charleston Living Magazine May-June 2023

WELL STYLED | DESIGN
Knock, Knock
Antique door knockers make a statement
By E.C. WALDRON » Photo by JENNY PETERSON
Anyone who has spent time walking in Charleston’s historic neighborhoods,
peering into gardens or marveling at ornate wrought iron gates, may have missed a more subtle
feature: historic brass door knockers.
Many that adorn Charleston homes were
purchased from George C. Birlant and Co.,
one of the oldest continually-operated antique
stores in the South, located at 191 King
Street. The store is filled with European antique
furniture, china, glassware and unique
and unexpected items like a display of ornate
walking canes and shelves of fireplace fenders.
The door adornments can be found
tucked into the corner and back of the store
and are displayed on a pegboard painted
“Charleston green.” The knockers come in
many different designs—some centuries old,
others more modern.
There is the 10 Downing Street version,
the head of a lion, a replica of the actual
knocker on the door of the Prime Minister
of England’s residence. The actual 10 Downing
Street wooden door was changed to steel
due to security issues. The door no longer
opens from the outside, but the head of the
lion remains above the mail slot. Tourists
take their photos at the door at 10 Adam
Street, which is almost identical.
Birlant and Co. also sells modern door
knocker designs, like large seashells and
alligators. Andrew Birlant Slotin is a third
generation Birlant on his maternal side of
the family and is co-owner of the operation,
which began 101 years ago.
“We started importing the knockers 75
or 80 years ago by buying an original and
then having it cast by a foundry, so we have
reproductions made,” said Andrew. Store
buyers go to Europe twice a year to purchase
antiques and to visit the foundry where the
knockers are produced.
“We can’t get any grand quantities
because these are small cottage industries,
they’re not big manufacturing plants,” he said.
These foundries are so rare today that
Andrew would not reveal the names or locations,
due to competition. You can find
door knockers online, but nothing compares
to the knowledge of a Charleston antiques
dealer with a brick-and-mortar store.
Andrew is a charming man with a great
sense of humor and deep history of door knockers.
“We have what’s called a ‘doctor’s door
knocker,’ which in America they call pitcher
handle knockers because from the side it
looks like the letter S,” said Andrew. “This
door knocker goes back quite a few centuries
because when people lived in their village or
town it would signify the home of a physician,
so if someone became ill, they would
know where to go.”
Many of today’s
designs are more
about what people
love, not what they do.
Wildlife, fish, shells,
or marine motifs are
popular. One of the
more unique South
Carolina designs is the
Carolina brown bat. It
is displayed hanging
from a branch, and
you pick up the bat
head to knock on a
door. Andrew. said
the original foundry
in the South that cast
these has since gone
out of business.
“We had that
little brown bat cast
in England; we sent
one of the remaining
ones we had and had
it made,” he said.
In today’s world
with electronic doorbell
cameras rolling
video, the antique
design of an artistic
door knocker can set
a tone—literally. All door knockers are different
and when knocked on an individual
door, it will have a unique sound.
“They have a very handsome sound. Preelectricity,
this was how people would indicate
they were at someone’s door. They were
an important part of people acknowledging
they were present and needed attention.”
And as a design element for the home,
they are sold at George C. Birlant and Co.
at reasonable prices. Most are in the $100 to
$200 range, while some of the larger, historic
knockers are priced up to $400. •
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