The Mosler Safe Company was a manufacturer of security equipment, most notably safe

Safe

A safe is a secure lockable box used for securing valuable objects against theft or damage. A safe is usually a hollow cuboid or cylinder, with one face removable or hinged to form a door. The body and door may be cast from metal or formed out of plastic through blow molding...

s and bank vault

Bank vault

A bank vault is a secure space where money, valuables, records, and documents can be stored. It is intended to protect their contents from theft, unauthorized use, fire, natural disasters, and other threats, just like a safe...

s, beginning in 1867 and ending with its bankruptcy

Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....

 in 2001.

Founded in Cincinnati

Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...

 by Gustave Mosler as the Mosler-Bahmann Safe Company, it outgrew its original factory and relocated to Hamilton

Hamilton, Ohio

Hamilton is a city in Butler County, southwestern Ohio, United States. The population was 62,447 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Butler County. The city is part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area....

 in 1891, where it remained until its 2001 bankruptcy. Its safes and vaults were renowned for their strength and precision manufacture: several Mosler vaults installed in Hiroshima

Hiroshima

is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...

's Mitsui Bank

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation

is a Japanese bank based in Yurakucho, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is a member of the Sumitomo Group and Mitsui Group. As of the year 2009, SMBC was the second largest bank in Japan in terms of assets.-History:...

 building prior to WWII

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 survived the nuclear attack

Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

During the final stages of World War II in 1945, the United States conducted two atomic bombings against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, the first on August 6, 1945, and the second on August 9, 1945. These two events are the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date.For six months...

, and the company subsequently produced doors for missile silos and even the vault formerly used to display and store the United States Constitution

United States Constitution

The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...

 and Declaration of Independence

United States Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...

. One example, installed at the Atomic Energy Commission

United States Atomic Energy Commission

The United States Atomic Energy Commission was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by Congress to foster and control the peace time development of atomic science and technology. President Harry S...

's Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a multiprogram science and technology national laboratory managed for the United States Department of Energy by UT-Battelle. ORNL is the DOE's largest science and energy laboratory. ORNL is located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, near Knoxville...

, weighed approximately 138 tons including the frame. Despite the weight ("the largest and heaviest hinged shielding doors in the world"), each 58-ton blade could be opened and closed manually by one person.

Mosler was controlled by its founding family until 1967, when they sold it to American Standard Companies

American Standard Companies

American Standard Companies, Inc. was a global manufacturer of air conditioning systems and services, bath & kitchen products and vehicle control systems. The company divested all but the air conditioning business in 2007, and renamed itself Trane....

. American Standard then sold the division to a group of Mosler managers and outside investors in 1986.

After 134 years in business, Mosler declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August 2001, citing continuing debt problems, and ceased operations shortly thereafter. Diebold

Diebold

Diebold, Inc. is a United States-based security systems corporation that is engaged primarily in the sale, manufacture, installation and service of self-service transaction systems , electronic and physical security products , and software and integrated systems for global financial and...

 subsequently announced programs to support former Mosler customers and ended up buying much of the former company in bankruptcy court a few months later.

Former Vice President

Vice President of the United States

The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...

 Dick Cheney

Dick Cheney

Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....

 was rumored to keep a man-sized Mosler safe in his office. Such allegations fueled speculation as to the contents of the safe among pundits such as The Daily Show

The Daily Show

The Daily Show , is an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central. The half-hour long show premiered on July 21, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 1998...

's Jon Stewart

Jon Stewart

Jon Stewart is an American political satirist, writer, television host, actor, media critic and stand-up comedian...

 and CNN

CNN

Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...

's Wolf Blitzer

Wolf Blitzer

Wolf Isaac Blitzer is an American journalist who has been a CNN reporter since 1990. Blitzer is currently the host of the newscast The Situation Room and was the host of the Sunday talk show Late Edition until it was discontinued on January 11, 2009...

. The Central Intelligence Agency

Central Intelligence Agency

The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...

 also maintains Mosler "Lock Boxes" for its key employees at the Langley, Virginia

Langley, Virginia

Langley is an unincorporated community in the census-designated place of McLean in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States.The community was essentially absorbed into McLean many years ago, although there is still a Langley High School...

headquarters.