The truth is that the ‘side-door’ was the normal entrance. In this part of the house were the kitchen and living-room. Here the occupants of the house spent most of their time, and here it was natural to seek them, whether for purposes of business or merely for the social gossip which made up so large a part of the simple life of the times. But with improvement in the type of Salem houses, the enlarging of rooms and hallways, and the more careful attention which then began to be given to front entrances and porches, a corresponding change took place in the mental attitude toward the stranger. The wide and handsome doorway invited him; it was ready to welcome him. But how should he announce his presence? The old-time knocker was the answer. The study of old knockers furnishes a delightful occupation for the lover of antiques. As found upon the doors of old Salem houses, they furnish conspicuous and charming examples, not only of the art of the craftsman in brass, who loved his work and lent to each specimen turned out by him the impress of his individuality, but of the fondness of our forbears for artistic and symbolic forms, together with an appreciation of classic myths and allegories which is very striking, to those who think of the early Colonists as hard men, with no richness of culture and no love of beauty. The very earliest Salem knockers were no doubt of iron, usually in the form of a ring, and serving also the purpose of a door-pull--as in the case of the Parkman and Bradstreet mansions, of which pictures may be seen in the Essex Institute, or in that of the Rebecca Nurse house in Danvers, once a part of Old Salem. The knocker, however, became gradually more artistic and elaborate. Brass was used instead of iron; and the effect of this against the paneled door of green or white, perhaps of mahogany, was effective and pleasing. Knockers of the second type comprise the hammer form in all its variations; while those of the third type are marked by the representation of human heads, animals, birds, or fishes. These had their origin in Italy, in the best days of the Renaissance, and the examples found in Old Salem are true to artistic type. [Illustration: OLD SALEM KNOCKERS (See pages 90-93)] No. 1. A handsome example of the so-called ‘urn shape’ is found on the door of the Ropes house at 373 Essex Street. Its graceful curves are most pleasing to the eye and its beauty consists largely in the pure simplicity of its design. No. 2. One of the many variations of the ‘hammer’ type of knocker. This one, quite simple in pattern, ornaments the door at the home of Dr. Kittridge, on Chestnut Street. This has the general shape of an old-fashioned thumb-latch door-handle, and might conceivably be used as a door-pull.