09-C-0991

WM. L. GILBERT OGEE SHELF CLOCK
INDEX # : 009-C-0991

circa: 1871-1875

CLOCK STYLE Ogee Shelf

CLOCK NAME O.O.G.

MANUFACTURE

Wm. L. Gilbert, Winsted, Conn.

William Lewis Gilbert (1806-1890)

CASE MODEL # N/A

MOVEMENT TYPE

Brass, weight driven, T&S, hour strike on cathedral gong, 30-hour, Type 6.112.

CASE SIZE & CONSTRUCTION Base = 15 ½", Height = 25 ¾", Depth = 4 ½"

Case is rosewood veneered and in excellent condition.

LABEL INFORMATION

Has both original labels:
(Front)
"Wm. L. Gilbert Clock Co., / Winsted, Conn. / Manufactures of / Brass Clocks. / 8 day and 30 hours. / Warranted if well used"
(Back)
"Ogee Manufactured by Wm. L. Gilbert Clock Co., Winsted, Conn."

DIAL INFORMATION

Original zinc painted dial is 8 1/2" x 8 1/2", with black Roman numerals, green floral spandrels, and a scalloped opening for viewing escapement. Dial glass appears to be original and is 8" x 8", secured in place with three wood strips. Dial has a 7 1/2" chapter ring. Dial has had some minor touch up work done by a previous owner. Written on the back of the dial is "Oiled and adjusted 9/13/91 / NAWCC 10750".

MISC. FEATURES Clock had a replacement looking glass in front door (probably had a stencil or reverse glass painting originally). See restoration below.

ACQUIRED FROM "Bear Track Farm Antiques", Hillsboro, New Hampshire.

CONDITION WHEN ACQUIRED Clock in running order, case and movement in good condition.

RESTORATION

March 1995 - Cleaned and oiled movement, set clock to running.
July 1997 - Looking glass replaced by an accurate reproduction reverse painted stencil created by KL in 1997. Tablet is 9 3/4" x 8", and held in place with a cardboard backing.

HISTORICAL DATA

The William L. Gilbert Clock Corporation factory as it appeared c. 1850
Clock listed in 1875 Gilbert catalog for $4.75.
William L. Gilbert was born in Litchfield, Ct. on December 30th, 1806, son of James and Abigail Kinney Gilbert. He spent most of his youth working on the farm with his father. At age 22, and after borrowing $300 dollars, he and his brother in law went into partnership manufacturing clock parts in Bristol, CT. This was the start of a long and productive career in the clock making industry for Mr. Gilbert.

Gilbert and Lucias Clarke acquired the old Riley Whiting Clock Factory in Winsted/Winchester, Conn. in 1841. They made clocks with the name Clarke, Gilbert & Company, and later as Gilbert and Clarke. In 1851, the company name was changed to W.L. Gilbert and Company. In 1859, the then bankrupt S.B. Terry became Gilbert's movement designer, and Forman for several years. The business operated as the Gilbert Manufacturing Company from 1866 until 1871. It was reorganized as the William L. Gilbert Clock Co. in 1871, and operated under this name until 1934 when the company changed it's name to the William L. Gilbert Clock Corp. From 1941 until 1945, the U.S. government permitted the company to manufacture paper mache clocks (especially alarm clocks) since metal was needed for W.W.II and alarm clocks were in demand. The corporation was taken over in 1957 by General Computing Machines Co., which operated it under the name General-Gilbert Corp. In 1964 it was sold off to the Spartus Corp. located in Louisville, Mississippi. William Gilbert died in June 1890.

One of his biographers wrote "His habits were simple and regular, his wants few, his life frugal. He was always a temperance man in principal and practice. In connection with strict, careful and methodical attention to business, he developed a capacity for managing and controlling affairs and men that secured him a large property and gave him a place in the front rank of the business men of the state"

REFERENCES 1. "Clock Identification and Price Guide - Book 3" by Roy Erhardt. Page 14.
2. "American Clocks and Clockmakers" by Robert W. & Harriett Swedburg, 1989, brief company history on page 17.
3. NAWCC Bulletin #177, August 1975 - Article on Gilbert History
4. NAWCC Bulletin #221, December 1982 - "Noble Jerome Patent 30-HR. Brass Weight Movements", Snowden Taylor

NOTES This was the first weight driven movement I disassembled and cleaned, and reassembled.

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CLOCK STYLE	Ogee Shelf
CLOCK NAME	O.O.G.
MANUFACTURE	Wm. L. Gilbert, Winsted, Conn. William Lewis Gilbert (1806-1890)
CASE MODEL #	N/A
MOVEMENT TYPE	Brass, weight driven, T&S, hour strike on cathedral gong, 30-hour, Type 6.112.
CASE SIZE & CONSTRUCTION	Base = 15 ½", Height = 25 ¾", Depth = 4 ½" Case is rosewood veneered and in excellent condition.
LABEL INFORMATION	Has both original labels: (Front) "Wm. L. Gilbert Clock Co., / Winsted, Conn. / Manufactures of / Brass Clocks. / 8 day and 30 hours. / Warranted if well used" (Back) "Ogee Manufactured by Wm. L. Gilbert Clock Co., Winsted, Conn."
DIAL INFORMATION	Original zinc painted dial is 8 1/2" x 8 1/2", with black Roman numerals, green floral spandrels, and a scalloped opening for viewing escapement. Dial glass appears to be original and is 8" x 8", secured in place with three wood strips. Dial has a 7 1/2" chapter ring. Dial has had some minor touch up work done by a previous owner. Written on the back of the dial is "Oiled and adjusted 9/13/91 / NAWCC 10750".
MISC. FEATURES	Clock had a replacement looking glass in front door (probably had a stencil or reverse glass painting originally). See restoration below.
ACQUIRED FROM	"Bear Track Farm Antiques", Hillsboro, New Hampshire.
CONDITION WHEN ACQUIRED	Clock in running order, case and movement in good condition.
RESTORATION	March 1995 - Cleaned and oiled movement, set clock to running. July 1997 - Looking glass replaced by an accurate reproduction reverse painted stencil created by KL in 1997. Tablet is 9 3/4" x 8", and held in place with a cardboard backing.
HISTORICAL DATA The William L. Gilbert Clock Corporation factory as it appeared c. 1850	Clock listed in 1875 Gilbert catalog for $4.75. William L. Gilbert was born in Litchfield, Ct. on December 30th, 1806, son of James and Abigail Kinney Gilbert. He spent most of his youth working on the farm with his father. At age 22, and after borrowing $300 dollars, he and his brother in law went into partnership manufacturing clock parts in Bristol, CT. This was the start of a long and productive career in the clock making industry for Mr. Gilbert. Gilbert and Lucias Clarke acquired the old Riley Whiting Clock Factory in Winsted/Winchester, Conn. in 1841. They made clocks with the name Clarke, Gilbert & Company, and later as Gilbert and Clarke. In 1851, the company name was changed to W.L. Gilbert and Company. In 1859, the then bankrupt S.B. Terry became Gilbert's movement designer, and Forman for several years. The business operated as the Gilbert Manufacturing Company from 1866 until 1871. It was reorganized as the William L. Gilbert Clock Co. in 1871, and operated under this name until 1934 when the company changed it's name to the William L. Gilbert Clock Corp. From 1941 until 1945, the U.S. government permitted the company to manufacture paper mache clocks (especially alarm clocks) since metal was needed for W.W.II and alarm clocks were in demand. The corporation was taken over in 1957 by General Computing Machines Co., which operated it under the name General-Gilbert Corp. In 1964 it was sold off to the Spartus Corp. located in Louisville, Mississippi. William Gilbert died in June 1890. One of his biographers wrote "His habits were simple and regular, his wants few, his life frugal. He was always a temperance man in principal and practice. In connection with strict, careful and methodical attention to business, he developed a capacity for managing and controlling affairs and men that secured him a large property and gave him a place in the front rank of the business men of the state"
REFERENCES	1. "Clock Identification and Price Guide - Book 3" by Roy Erhardt. Page 14. 2. "American Clocks and Clockmakers" by Robert W. & Harriett Swedburg, 1989, brief company history on page 17. 3. NAWCC Bulletin #177, August 1975 - Article on Gilbert History 4. NAWCC Bulletin #221, December 1982 - "Noble Jerome Patent 30-HR. Brass Weight Movements", Snowden Taylor
NOTES	This was the first weight driven movement I disassembled and cleaned, and reassembled.