Victorian Antique Door Bell Ringer

The first time I ever saw one of these I fell in love -- that was over two decades ago.  Wouldn't it have been nice if  our Victorian house would have  had a door ringer like that?  I came home from my road trip and checked -- a filled-hole smack in the center where a ringer would have been.  So, I am convinced that once upon a time our house did have said door ringer.

I priced them on ebay.  Out of my price range.  I wanted an authentic one.  About five years ago I came across most of the ringer pieces at an auction.  I bought the ringer at a decent price, but knew I needed someone handy to work on it.

That is where my brother came in.  I sent the ringer to him a few months ago to work on.  And this week he was passing through long enough to install!!  This was item on my house "to do" list.  I feel like this house has wanted it's house ringer replaced for a long time.

 The brass eastlake motif of the bell .... 

blends seamlessly with the existing eastlake hardware,

that has been on the front door for 120 years.

It seems like a sweet farewell gift to our house.