This is the first of a series of door knockers and letter boxes which Gertrude Hermes executed for her friends after she had completed a commission which included door furniture for the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon in 1932. This example was made for Gilbert Mitchison (1880-1970) later Lord Mitchison for his house in Hammersmith Mall while he was a practising barrister of the Inner Temple. This prototype had to be rejected becasue the aperture was not sufficently large to receive solicitors' briefs. The version eventually installed was modified to do so.

Gertrude Hermes (1901-1983) was primarily a wood engraver and sculptress but nonetheless executed an appreciable amount of architectural decorative work, particularly before the Second World War. In 1925 she was one of the finalists in engraving for the Prix de Rome. She was a prominent illustrator and in 1939 was one of the seven wood engravers to represent Britain at the Venice International Exhibition. During the Second World War, she took her young family to Canada where she worked as a tracer and precision draughtsman in the drawing offices of aircraft and shipbuilding practices. After the war, she returned to England and concentrated more on sculpture. She was elected an associate of the Royal Academy in 1963 for her engraving, she was the first woman engraver to be elected, and she became a Royal Academician in 1971.