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In
the late 1800s, nearly every American clock company offered its customers
an inexpensive alternative to expensive black slate/marble clocks, which
were very popular at the time. Some of these substitutes were enamelled
iron, others were ebonized wood.
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Maker: Ansonia
Clock Co., New York, NY
Built: 1880 - 1900's
Case: Enameled Iron, cast ornaments
This is a
pretty famous Ansonia model. I had wanted one for a long time,
and I finally found this one at the 2000 NAWCC convention in Philadelphia.
The dial on this clock is "gutta percha," a hard rubber
similar to what old record albums were made of. It's the nicest
gutta percha dial I've ever seen. This clock is all original except
that the very top of it has been refinished. It has the same nickel-plated
movement as my "Florentine No. 1,"
so I suspect it was made in the mid 1880s.
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Maker: Ansonia
Clock Co., New York, NY
Built: 1886 - 1900's
Case: Enameled Iron, cast ornaments
This is another
famous Ansonia model. In its original incarnation (as shown in
the 1883 catalog), it had a statue (presumably of Rosalind) on
top and a slightly different shape to the very top platform. My
clock conforms to the ones illustrated in the 1886 and later catalogs,
hence my dating. Everything's original, but the plating on one
of the side statues is severely worn, presumably due to over-zealous
polishing by a previous owner.
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Maker: Ansonia
Clock Co., New York, NY
Built: 1880's
Case: Enameled Iron
This clock
is also in original condition, except for the front glass which
was missing when I bought it. The porcelain, visible escapement
dial has a couple of cracks, but the clock is otherwise in fine
shape. The dial reads, "Ansonia Clock Co. / Patented" but does
not contain the Ansonia trademark of the A inside two squares.
It appears in the 1886 catalog, but not in the 1880 or 1894 catalogs,
so it's probably somewhat rare.
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Maker: W.L. Gilbert
Clock Company, Winstead, CT
Built: 1880's
Case: Ebonized wood, faux marble paint
A famous
model, shown in several clock books. The first time I saw one
of these was in the Knott's Berry Farm "old west" museum. The
bell on top is fully functional, used for the strike, and has
a beautiful, piercing ring with great sustain.
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Maker: F. Kroeber,
New York, NY
Built: 1890's
Case: Enameled Iron
A real salvage
project when I got it, this clock's ornamentation was caked with
residue from abrasive metal polish. On the dial, the paper behind
the dial ornaments was ruined. I painstakingly recreated the dial
by scanning it into my computer and redrawing the numbers with
as much of the original design as I could salvage. I then printed
the dial at 720 dpi with an aged-paper pattern in the background
using a stochastic screen on a Canon Bubble Jet printer. (The
results impressed the local chapter of the N.A.W.C.C.) Subsequently,
I painstakingly polished the brass on the dial and bezel. The
main reason I bought this clock was the movement, which contains
the Kroeber-patented
rings on the pendulum bob. Thin brass rods run through the
rings, supposedly preventing the pendulum from swinging too far
out of the normal path and damaging the suspension spring. This
clock would look spectacular if I replated the rest of the ornamentation
-- what do you think?
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Maker: Waterbury
Clock Co., Waterbury, CT
Built: 1903 - 1905
Case: Ebonized wood, painted columns & accents
Many thanks
to Carl Rosa, who identified this clock for me from his Waterbury
catalogs. I was attracted to the unusual "porticos" on the sides
of the case.
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