This 17th century lock could tell you if someone had already used your key to enter your home
The Rijksmuseum entry offers a bit of explanation (excerpt):
The man’s stick has two points that correspond to the two sets of numbers along the edge of the round number plate decorated with a five-leaf rose. The outer number series consists of the odd numbers from 1 to 99, the inner number series of the even numbers from 2 to 100. If the bolt is fully extended by two turns of the key, when the key is turned back two times, the number plate jumps so that the far end of the stick points to the next number on the inner number series. In this way it can be detected how many times the lock has been closed.
The keyhole is underneath the man’s left leg which swings out.
These locks were made by John Wilkes of Birmingham in the late 1600s. Wilkes was a locksmith who made locks and also lock plates and the decorative plates around locks.
There are not many of these locks still in existence and so it seems they were not really prevalent. All of them existing in museums such as the V&A in London and the Met in New York city can be traced back to John Wilkes.
A video from the V&A, linked below shows this lock in action.
Where?
On display in room 0.7 on the ground floor of the Rijksmuseum. The lock is behind glass, and above eye level inside a glass case full of historical locks.
References:
Video of Wilkes Detector Lock, V&A museum, London
John Wilkes Beautiful Locks and Keys, from the blog A Tour of Lost Birmingham.
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