143-C-0804

CLOCK STYLE	NY Style Mirror Clock
CLOCK NAME	Ironing Board Clock (named for the shape of the wood cap on top of case)
MANUFACTURE	Munger and Benedict, Auburn, NY. Picture to the left is Asa Munger Asa Munger (1777-1851) Thaddeus Benedict (????-????)
CASE MODEL #	N/A
MOVEMENT TYPE	Brass, 8-day T&S, numbered "208". It is believed that Munger and Benedict numbered the front plate of these movements for accounting reasons due to their 3 year contract with the State of New York Prison system. I believe that this would have been one of the earlier clocks made using the prison labor. It is estimated that they made around 3,300 clocks during their contract with the prison system. One can assume the movements were numbered ~1-3,300, movements have been reported from 203 up to 2877. The weights to drive the time and strike trains are 9 1/4" in length and weigh 10 lbs each.
CASE DIMENSIONS & CONSTRUCTION	Base=22 1/4" , Height=39", Depth=7 1/2" Oak veneer on case with mahogany inserts above and below door. The ironing board top is solid oak. Carved columns are 28" long and are placed between pediments with carved rosettes.
LABEL INFORMATION	No Label.
DIAL INFORMATION	Appears to have a paper label that is glued to the iron dial plate. Dial is signed "Warranted by / Munger & Benedict / Auburn, NY" Dial has black Roman letters and the chapter ring is 7". Off-center winding arbors which is seen on most Munger clocks, seconds bit at the 12 o'clock position.
MISC FEATURES	Flying eagle pendulum, massive 10 lb time and strike weights. Strikes the hour on a cast bell.
ACQUIRED FROM	Online auction, seller from New York. Seller advised that this clock was his fathers and that he had owned it for around 30 years.
CONDITION WHEN ACQUIRED	The movement is complete, but very dirty. Pivots holes all appear to be ok with no evidence that it has ever been re-bushed. This clock would have probably been lined with wallpaper which now missing. The mirror and the dial glass have been replaced. The dial glass will be restored by KL. It would originally have had a black background with a gilt border around the circumference of the dial, and gilt stenciled spandrels. The case is in good original condition with what appears to be the original finish. It has the original hour and minute hands, dial, flying eagle pendulum bob, and weights. Missing the door latch on the left side of case, the original winding key, and one of the weight pulleys. I believe the seconds hand is a replacement as most of the originals I have seen were twisted instead of straight.
RESTORATION	August 2004 - Cleaned case with New Life Furniture Mask, then gave it a final coat with wood moisturizer. Disassembled and inspected movement for wear, cleaned, oiled, and adjusted, set clock to running.
HISTORICAL DATA Auburn State Prison facility c. 1830.	Asa Munger was a maker of high grade 8 day brass movement clocks. His case styles and movement design differed from those of his Connecticut counterparts. He started his contract with the State of New York in March of 1833, using prison labor at the Auburn State Prison, to construct his clocks. He partnered with Thaddeus Benedict in May of 1833 and this partnership lasted through November 1833. Munger decided to leave and turned over the business to Hotchkiss & Benedict, who continued to manufacture Munger's Patent clocks until 1837. It is reported that Munger nor Benedict were allowed to talk to the prisoners directly, but had to relay instructions via a shop foreman. The made approximately 3 clocks per day with prison labor, and they sold wholesale for $18.00. This was quite a bit more money than the Connecticut makers were charging for the bronze looking glass clocks (around $5.00), but his clocks were very high quality. Munger and Benedict produced clocks between March 1833 until November 1833 according to New York State records. This clock seems to be earlier, as the case style was somewhat simpler around 1833. This may have been one of the earliest models they produced in the prison. Additional research indicates that this clock was manufactured between March 1833 and May 1833. After this date, Hotchkiss was brought into the partnership and the name was changed to A. Munger & Co.. A new contract with the prison system was signed at this time.
REFERENCES	1. NAWCC Bulletin #141, August 1969 "Asa Munger and His Shelf Clock Production at Auburn State Prison, by Ken Roberts" 2. NAWCC Bulletin #275, December 1991 "Asa Munger Clocks: Unorthodox Approaches, Auburn Prison Production, and Hotchkiss / Benedict Partnerships", by Jack Clemes 3. An Empire In Time - Clocks and Clock Makers of Upstate New York, 2003, G. Russell Oechale & Hellen Boyce & Collaborators 4. NAWCC Bulletin #279, August 1992 "More on Asa Munger Prison Labor", James Mehrer.
NOTES	We have always admired the style of the upstate New York clock makers, including Asa Munger. We have only seen a couple of Asa Munger clocks at auctions (when we were still very new to clock collecting), and they went for what we considered to be large sums of money at that time. They still go for what we consider large sums of money, but they are worth every penny. These are large shelf clocks and are simply beautiful.