Top Drawer

Clear Pairpoint crystal, $337, E.R. Butler.

Bubbled glass, $8, Anthropologie.

Vintage glass, $11, Restoration Hardware.

Vicenza brass, $21, Billie Brenner.

Quincy nickel, $13, Restoration Hardware.

Star glass, $10, Period Hardware.

Faceted glass, $6, Anthropologie.

Hob-Knobbing with History
E.R. Butler & Co. continues a centuries-long manufacturing tradition.

Long before it was a posh Beacon Hill showroom, E.R. Butler was behind some of the most aesthetically influential hardware in nineteenth century America, in buildings such as the Old State House and the Parker House Hotel (now the Omni Parker House). Originally run by one Enoch Robinson, the firm was later succeeded by W.C. Vaughan Co., and continued this tradition in Boston until it was acquired by New York-based E.R. Butler in 2000. “They were both historic Boston-based companies, and we wanted to stay true to that history,” says Adam Muther, assistant project manager at E.R. Butler, noting that much of Butler’s hardware is still manufactured locally in Braintree. -William DeGregorio