Stair clips for period staircases

Victorian Stair Clip

I recently had a chap on the 'phone, who was trying to please his wife, but was not convinced she was correct - could we provide some professional advice, which might persuade her?  

She had read an article, which said that stair clips are the authentic "look" for a staircase, in a period property, and therefore she had decided that this is what she would like in their Victorian town house - just clips and nothing else! Well, that was until their carpet fitter informed her that she'd need more than a couple of clips, if she didn't want to fall down the stairs...

So, did we sell stair clips, which were sturdy enough to hold the carpet in place on the staircase? I think he was actually quite relieved, when I explained that today all stair clips and stair rods are decorative, although originally they were used to hold your runner in place. But, they weren't particularly secure and stair runners did slip down the staircase, over time, and got rucks in them, which you could easily trip over.  Today we use gripper instead, on the tread and the riser, which is totally secure and invisible.

He ordered a set of our stair clips in antique brass, which are Fleur de lys in design, and evidently reflect the design of their curtain rail finials. The clips are made from solid brass, and therefore provide the "authentic" look his wife was after, and work on a hinge: simply push the front clip part up, in order to screw them into the staircase and then push the clip down, over the front of the carpet.

Much relieved he rang off - I hope his wife likes them!