Following service with the Royal Air Force in the Second World War, Eric Monk joined the building industry, initially as an architectural draughtsman, then as a designer of specialised building products and subsequently in technical sales in the industry. He has now returned to his first interest the drawing board and works as a freelance illustrator, mainly of architectural subjects. A founder member of the Society of Architectural Illustration, he operates from his home in the delightful Cotswold village of Minchinhampton, where he enjoys recording with his pen the stone buildings of the area.

• 1) From latch to lock and key2) Warded locks and elaborate keys3) Innovations versus the lock-picker4) The trade and the collector5) Collective cost6) Comparative size of keys7) Further reading8) Places to visit9) Index

Following service with the Royal Air Force in the Second World War, Eric Monk joined the building industry, initially as an architectural draughtsman, then as a designer of specialised building products and subsequently in technical sales in the industry. He has now returned to his first interest the drawing board and works as a freelance illustrator, mainly of architectural subjects. A founder member of the Society of Architectural Illustration, he operates from his home in the delightful Cotswold village of Minchinhampton, where he enjoys recording with his pen the stone buildings of the area.

• 1) From latch to lock and key2) Warded locks and elaborate keys3) Innovations versus the lock-picker4) The trade and the collector5) Collective cost6) Comparative size of keys7) Further reading8) Places to visit9) Index