136-C-0401

H. WELTON & CO. OGEE CLOCK
INDEX # : 136-C-0701

circa: 1840-1845

CLOCK STYLE Fancy Ogee Clock

CLOCK NAME N/A

MANUFACTURE H. Welton & Co., Terrysville, Conn.

Hiram Welton (????-????)
Heman Welton (????-????)

CASE MODEL # N/A

MOVEMENT TYPE

Type 3.1, early 30-Hour brass movement made by H. Welton & Co. Movement has 3 vertical bars instead of tombstone cutout on front plate. The Count and Main wheels are on the back of the movement, possibly an attempt to get around Nobel Jerome's 30-hour brass movement patent. The hands appear to be original to the clock.

CASE SIZE & CONSTRUCTION

Base = 16", Height = 26 1/8", Depth = 4 1/2"

Mahogany Veneer with "raised gesso" and gold powder applied to case.

LABEL INFORMATION

Original label in excellent condition.

"Improved / Brass / Clocks / Manufactured and sold by / H. Welton & Co. / At the old stand of Eli Terry & Co. / Terrysville, Conn. / Warranted if well used / N.R. The public may be assured that this kind of clock will run as long without, and be as / durable and accurate for keeping time as any kind of clock whatever."

DIAL INFORMATION

This clock appears to have it's original wood dial, with gilt spandrels and black Roman numerals. The dial is 9" x 9", the dial glass has been replaced and is 7 3/4" x 7 3/4" (held in place by wood strips).

MISC. FEATURES

This clock has a mahogany veneer with an unusual gilt raised gesso decoration applied to the case. Gesso is an early type of plaster of Paris, and was used extensively to decorate clock cases and dials, but rarely to this degree. A gold powder was used to give the gesso it's brilliant gold color.

The dial glass is not original. The lower tablet is a frosted glass reproduction. I believe the clock would have originally had a reverse painted tablet based on other examples of early Welton Ogee clocks (a task which shall go on KL's to-do list!).

ACQUIRED FROM Purchased from The Willard Library (online auction). The Willard Library had purchased this clock at a clock auction in 1989.

CONDITION WHEN ACQUIRED

Clock is not in running order, veneer and raised gesso/gilt on case is in excellent condition.

RESTORATION

June 2007 - K.L. created this reverse painted tablet to restore the lower tablet. The replacement frosted glass has been removed. This tablet is more appropriate for a clock of this age. The pattern for this tablet was from an original reverse glass painting.

November 2009 - Finally got around to disassembling the movement and cleaning it. Upon closer inspection, several of the pivot holes have been closed using a punch (on the inside of front & back plates).

HISTORICAL DATA

This clock probably sold for ~$3.00 back in 1842.

H. Welton & Co. was comprised of Hiram Welton (Clockmaker) and his brother Heman (Businessman), the H. representing Hiram. The firm started to manufacture clocks in the old factory of Eli Terry, Jr. (who died in 1841) in Terry(s)ville, Conn. . M. Blakesley & Co. apparently made clocks in part of Terry Jr's. factory at the same time that Terry, Jr. was still producing clocks, under the name of M. Blakesley & Co. (the & Co. was believed to have been Eli Jr.). Hiram Welton manufactured movements for Terry and Blakesley in 1839, prior to forming H. Welton & Co. The H. Welton & Co. firm was only in business for a short period of time (1840-1845), after which the firm went bankrupt, and the factory was then used to manufacture locks. The factory eventually became the Eagle Lock Company.

H. Welton & Co. manufactured 30-hour and 8-Day wood movements during the early period, but quickly switched over to brass movements. It is reported by several sources that Chauncey Jerome had brought legal action against the firm for infringing on Noble Jeromes patented 30-hour brass movement, although I have been unable to find any hard proof of this. Certainly, most of the 30-hour brass movements manufactured by H. Welton & Co. did infringe on this patent. It is also reported that Hiram Welton asked Eli Terry Sr. to develop a 30-hour brass movement that did not infringe on Jerome's patent, but none of these attempts were cost effective or reliable enough to actually keep Welton from copying Jerome's Movement.

H. Welton & Co. is reported to have manufactured some 58,000 brass 30-hour clocks during the time they were in production.

The town of Terrysville (named after Eli Terry, Jr.) was changed to Terryville in 1839.

REFERENCES 1. NAWCC Bulletin No. 177, August 1975, "Eli Terry, Jr. Clockmaker", pg. 278, reference to Terry(s)ville.
2. "Horology America" by Lester Dworetsky & Robert Dickstein, 1972, picture of similar clock case by William S. Johnson, NY, c. 1845, possibly with a Welton movement.
3. "Eli Terry and the Connecticut Shelf Clock" by Kenneth Roberts and Snowden Taylor, 1994, pg. 334-337, Info on H. Welton & Co.
4. NAWCC Bulletin No. 221, December 1982, pg. 721-722, Info on H. Welton & Co. 30 hour movements.
5. NAWCC Bulletin No. 232, October 1984, pg. 535-544, description of H. Welton & Co. 30-hour brass movements.
6. NAWCC Bulletin No. 323, December 1999, pg. 778, description of H. Welton & Co. escape wheel bridge design.
7. NAWCC Bulletin No. 100, October 1962, "The Death of Tic Toc Town, info on H. Welton & Co. factory.

NOTES We purchased this clock mainly because of the fancy gilt case. We had just come back from the July 2001 NAWCC Convention in New Orleans, LA., and were a little disappointed because we failed to find a single clock to bring back with us. Not that there weren't some nice clocks there for sale, but most of the ones we wanted were slightly out of $$$ reach. After returning, we saw this clock for sale on EBay and decided to get it since our trip to N.O. didn't result in any additions to our collection. We did get to see the French Quarter, do some gambling at Harrah's Casino, and some other interesting site-seeing. A couple of old friends from Pa. (Rosie & Robin) also accompanied us on this trip, and we all had a pretty good time sampling the Cajun Cuisine.

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CLOCK STYLE	Fancy Ogee Clock
CLOCK NAME	N/A
MANUFACTURE	H. Welton & Co., Terrysville, Conn. Hiram Welton (????-????) Heman Welton (????-????)
CASE MODEL #	N/A
MOVEMENT TYPE	Type 3.1, early 30-Hour brass movement made by H. Welton & Co. Movement has 3 vertical bars instead of tombstone cutout on front plate. The Count and Main wheels are on the back of the movement, possibly an attempt to get around Nobel Jerome's 30-hour brass movement patent. The hands appear to be original to the clock.
CASE SIZE & CONSTRUCTION	Base = 16", Height = 26 1/8", Depth = 4 1/2" Mahogany Veneer with "raised gesso" and gold powder applied to case.
LABEL INFORMATION	Original label in excellent condition. "Improved / Brass / Clocks / Manufactured and sold by / H. Welton & Co. / At the old stand of Eli Terry & Co. / Terrysville, Conn. / Warranted if well used / N.R. The public may be assured that this kind of clock will run as long without, and be as / durable and accurate for keeping time as any kind of clock whatever."
DIAL INFORMATION	This clock appears to have it's original wood dial, with gilt spandrels and black Roman numerals. The dial is 9" x 9", the dial glass has been replaced and is 7 3/4" x 7 3/4" (held in place by wood strips).
MISC. FEATURES	This clock has a mahogany veneer with an unusual gilt raised gesso decoration applied to the case. Gesso is an early type of plaster of Paris, and was used extensively to decorate clock cases and dials, but rarely to this degree. A gold powder was used to give the gesso it's brilliant gold color. The dial glass is not original. The lower tablet is a frosted glass reproduction. I believe the clock would have originally had a reverse painted tablet based on other examples of early Welton Ogee clocks (a task which shall go on KL's to-do list!).
ACQUIRED FROM	Purchased from The Willard Library (online auction). The Willard Library had purchased this clock at a clock auction in 1989.
CONDITION WHEN ACQUIRED	Clock is not in running order, veneer and raised gesso/gilt on case is in excellent condition.
RESTORATION	June 2007 - K.L. created this reverse painted tablet to restore the lower tablet. The replacement frosted glass has been removed. This tablet is more appropriate for a clock of this age. The pattern for this tablet was from an original reverse glass painting. November 2009 - Finally got around to disassembling the movement and cleaning it. Upon closer inspection, several of the pivot holes have been closed using a punch (on the inside of front & back plates).
HISTORICAL DATA	This clock probably sold for ~$3.00 back in 1842. H. Welton & Co. was comprised of Hiram Welton (Clockmaker) and his brother Heman (Businessman), the H. representing Hiram. The firm started to manufacture clocks in the old factory of Eli Terry, Jr. (who died in 1841) in Terry(s)ville, Conn. . M. Blakesley & Co. apparently made clocks in part of Terry Jr's. factory at the same time that Terry, Jr. was still producing clocks, under the name of M. Blakesley & Co. (the & Co. was believed to have been Eli Jr.). Hiram Welton manufactured movements for Terry and Blakesley in 1839, prior to forming H. Welton & Co. The H. Welton & Co. firm was only in business for a short period of time (1840-1845), after which the firm went bankrupt, and the factory was then used to manufacture locks. The factory eventually became the Eagle Lock Company. H. Welton & Co. manufactured 30-hour and 8-Day wood movements during the early period, but quickly switched over to brass movements. It is reported by several sources that Chauncey Jerome had brought legal action against the firm for infringing on Noble Jeromes patented 30-hour brass movement, although I have been unable to find any hard proof of this. Certainly, most of the 30-hour brass movements manufactured by H. Welton & Co. did infringe on this patent. It is also reported that Hiram Welton asked Eli Terry Sr. to develop a 30-hour brass movement that did not infringe on Jerome's patent, but none of these attempts were cost effective or reliable enough to actually keep Welton from copying Jerome's Movement. H. Welton & Co. is reported to have manufactured some 58,000 brass 30-hour clocks during the time they were in production. The town of Terrysville (named after Eli Terry, Jr.) was changed to Terryville in 1839.
REFERENCES	1. NAWCC Bulletin No. 177, August 1975, "Eli Terry, Jr. Clockmaker", pg. 278, reference to Terry(s)ville. 2. "Horology America" by Lester Dworetsky & Robert Dickstein, 1972, picture of similar clock case by William S. Johnson, NY, c. 1845, possibly with a Welton movement. 3. "Eli Terry and the Connecticut Shelf Clock" by Kenneth Roberts and Snowden Taylor, 1994, pg. 334-337, Info on H. Welton & Co. 4. NAWCC Bulletin No. 221, December 1982, pg. 721-722, Info on H. Welton & Co. 30 hour movements. 5. NAWCC Bulletin No. 232, October 1984, pg. 535-544, description of H. Welton & Co. 30-hour brass movements. 6. NAWCC Bulletin No. 323, December 1999, pg. 778, description of H. Welton & Co. escape wheel bridge design. 7. NAWCC Bulletin No. 100, October 1962, "The Death of Tic Toc Town, info on H. Welton & Co. factory.
NOTES	We purchased this clock mainly because of the fancy gilt case. We had just come back from the July 2001 NAWCC Convention in New Orleans, LA., and were a little disappointed because we failed to find a single clock to bring back with us. Not that there weren't some nice clocks there for sale, but most of the ones we wanted were slightly out of $$$ reach. After returning, we saw this clock for sale on EBay and decided to get it since our trip to N.O. didn't result in any additions to our collection. We did get to see the French Quarter, do some gambling at Harrah's Casino, and some other interesting site-seeing. A couple of old friends from Pa. (Rosie & Robin) also accompanied us on this trip, and we all had a pretty good time sampling the Cajun Cuisine.