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(before 1870)
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Maker: Seth Thomas,
Plymouth Hollow, CT
Built: 1856 - 1864
Case: looks like rosewood & veneer
The dating
on this clock is interesting -- according to Roy Erhardt, Seth
Thomas clocks of this era can be dated by the address of the
printer who produced the label! My label shows the printer as
Elihu Greer at 16 State Street in Hartford. The dates shown
correspond to this address. The looking glass configuration
of this clock appears to be original. The mirror is obviously
quite old, and I have seen similar looking glass designs in
various books. The gilding on the columns is in beautiful shape.
The wood is in great shape, too, except for a crack in the veneer
at the top. 30-hour, weight-driven movement. Original painted
dial.
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Maker: Chauncey
Jerome, New Haven, CT
Built: 1845 - 1855
Case: Some kind of knotty veneer
Chauncey
Jerome was largely responsible for the first mass-produced brass
movement clocks in America. He operated in New Haven between
the dates shown. In 1855, he went out of business and the New
Haven Clock Company took over his operations, producing clocks
under the name "Jerome & Co."
This clock
has one very interesting feature that makes it quite rare: It
has a three-weight movement with time, strike and alarm. At
the auction where I purchased this, there were several clock
guys whom I recognized from local NAWCC events. They all passed
this by as "just another OG" without noticing the third winding
hole! Here's a shot of the
weights and label.
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Maker: New Haven
Clock Co., New Haven, CT
Built: c. 1860
Case: Rosewood veneer
This ogee
is only 18.5" tall. It has a 30-hour, spring driven movement.
All original. Glass painting is in good shape except for a dime-sized
piece missing from the middle of the beehive. It has an alarm
mechanism in the main part of the movement, but the actual alarm
works are missing. (Any suppliers of original alarm works out
there? See What I'm Looking For .)
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Maker: R&I
Atkins
Built: 1833 - 1837
Case: Mahogany & veneer
This huge
clock has a 30-hour, weight-driven wooden
movement. When I got it, it was missing a verge, so I had
one fabricated for it. The movement looks a lot like those made
by Terry. The "R&I" refers to Rollin and Irenus, the latter
being the more dedicated clockmaker. (A later incarnation of
his company, the Atkins Clock Co. is represented in my "Mantel"
page.) He was a Baptist minister as well!
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Maker: Waterbury
Clock Co., Waterbury, CT
Built: 1855-1870
Case: Rosewood veneer
From what
I can tell from my books, this case style was already a little
old-fashioned when the Waterbury Clock Co. was formed in 1855.
I can't imagine this 30-hour, weight driven clock being made
after 1870. The glass is original. Some of the veneer has been
replaced, but the effect is undiminished -- it's still a very
stately and well-proportioned clock.
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Maker: Waterbury
Clock Co., Waterbury, CT (perhaps)
Built: circa 1867
Case: Painted cast iron front, wooden back
This is
an unsigned clock -- there are no manufacturer's marks on either
the movement or the case. But this exact style appears in the
1867 Waterbury catalog, hence my identification. It is still
possible that the casting was made by another company (like
Nicholas Muller) and sold to more than one clock maker, which
would mean that this is not a Waterbury. Nevertheless, the dating
would be accurate as this type of clock was only made around
that time. A real charmer.
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Maker: Upson Brothers,
Marion, CT
Built: Early 1850's
Case: Cast Iron with Mother-of-Pearl inlay
This is
a very rare piece. Several New England clock makers were producing
these cast-iron cases with inlay. Interestingly, one of them
was Terry & Andrews, the predecessors of the first Ansonia
Clock Co. In fact, some early Ansonia clocks have the same embossed
dial with "Ansonia Clock Co." embossed on the inside ring.
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Maker: Seth Thomas
Clock Co., Thomaston, CT
Built: c. 1870
Case: Roseweed Veneer, plaster columns
This clock
is huge. It has two weights of almost 15 lbs. each to provide
the motive power for the interesting 8-day "lyre"
movement. (I'm always fascinated by the sense of aesthetics
that appears in normally hidden places.) I've based the dating
on the fact that while the label says "Thomaston," the movement
is marked "Plymouth." It's likely that a number of Plymouth
movements remained in stock after the town of Plymouth Hollow
was renamed Thomaston in honor of its most prominent citizen
(and employer) in 1866. All the glass is original. The gilding
at the ends of the columns was concealed under a century of
crud, which I painstakingly scraped off. The result was worth
it.
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