Steinmetz, Joseph Janney, 1905-1985. Portrait of Sarasota architect Ruth Richmond. 19–. Black & white photoprint, 10 x 8 in. State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory. , accessed 7 December 2015.
The journey of discovery continues: In the apartment he decorated for a client, Ben Sander used sparkly vintage Weiser acrylic doorknobs throughout. With just a wee bit of searching, I found they were designed by Ruth Richmond — a interior designer and general contractor whose company Richmond Homes built more than 12,000 homes in Sarasota and environs from the 1950s through the 1970s.
Above: Ruth Richmond-designed doorknobs, featured often in the homes she designed and decorated and apparently marketed by Weiser.
Another story about an impressive midcentury designing woman — and about a product that we must. start. hoarding. collecting. now.
The inside knob rotates and recesses to lock the outer knob. You’ll notice that the outer knob has a small hole drilled in the center of it. That’s how you unlock it in an emergency.
When we were planning the doorknob switch, I considered these knobs from Rejuvenation. They have the same feel, just without the golden nugget.
Where to find vintage Ruth Richmond for Weiser door knobs — both are ebay affiliate links:
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Allison says
Actually, there are several different kinds of glittery Ruth Richmond knobs. I’ve been buying them for our little ’40s beach cottage and the ones I like the best are an amber acrylic with swirled/puffy white glitter stuff, rather than the clear acrylic with gold crinkles. On ebay, the clear ones with gold seem appear most often .
but all are fabulous (so which one of you was it who outbid me on that last set…?)
Allison says
… and a tip for hunting them on ebay. Search “acrylic knobs” as well as “Ruth Richmond”.
Plenty of RR hit ebay without being identified as such; usually just listed as acrylic or lucite Weiser knobs.
pam kueber says
Yes — play with your search terms on this one!
Carol says
I almost fell off my chair. My DH likes to gold mine in Dahlonega GA . I will be renovating his office at home this winter and I will definitely use these in the design. Not sure how well it will go with a vintage tanker desk, but he will LOVE them. The desk is mint condition gray so I see some silver and gold leaf in this room. Sounds awful but it’s already in my head!
Michelle says
My home in Sarasota, purchased in 1986 from original owners has these exact doorknobs on all doors and a smaller version on the kitchen cabinets. I have always loved them and even the appraiser commented on them during my last refinance – he counted them as an upgraded feature. Ha!
pam kueber says
Wowowowo: Kitchen cabinet pulls! I saw some online while I was searching, I’d LOVE to see them in person. I’ll email you…
Amy says
Once again, I learned something new! Something to love. The black knobs with gold flake…gorgeous, and my personal favorite of what I saw on the link to ebay.
$99 for two sets — that’s not that bad, is it?
I’ll bet Mrs. Pinkerton, above, will be deluged with requests for her home’s Ruth Richmond knobs!
Mrs Pinkerton says
No offers yet, Amy! 🙂 But then, I’d be shipping from Canada. I don’t know how much of an issue that would be. (I also need to convince my husband to sell them.)
DgLvr says
Ooooooooooooooooo SPARKLES!!!!!
Ronda Vallejo says
We had doorknobs similar to these on the inside of our bedroom doors, but clear with bubbles inside. My sister and I loved them! My mom let me take them and replace them with doorknobs that matched the rest of the house when she sold her house.
CAT says
That’s too cool. My husband needed a walking stick after his stroke, and he modified a plain ol black one and used this exact doorknob on the top! It’s his “wizard stick”. He gets tons of compliments on it.
Jed says
You’ve made my day. I purchased a set of the drawer pulls years ago from an architectural salvage place to bring some life to my 1959 kitchen cabinets. Since I put them on 7 years ago, I have gotten so many comments about them, both positive and negative. I am two short and have been thinking of having a glass blower replicate them, but thanks to your informative article, I can see that they are available.
Thanks, Retro Renovation, for covering the story and thanks, Ruth Richmond, for designing these awesome knobs.
pam kueber says
Yay!
Jim says
I accidently came across these doorknobs when performing a search for mid-century doorknobs, to replace a few in a 1960’s condo, that didn’t match. I ended up bidding and winning 10 sets of the gold nugget flake knobs and ended up replacing every doorknob in the place. I paid $125.00 on eBay, and after a little cleaning, they looked perfect in this mid-century condo. They installed easy and the tenant loves them too. I recently saw 36 sets of drawer pull knobs in the same gold flake design, but was outbid at the last second. I think I am becoming hooked on Ruth Weiser Richmond, and the various knobs she made . Can’t wait to see some of the houses she designed!