170-C-1205

SETH THOMAS OGEE MIRROR WALL TIMEPIECE
INDEX # : 170-C-1205

circa: 1870-1880

CLOCK STYLE Ogee Mirror Wall Timepiece

CLOCK NAME N/A

MANUFACTURE

Seth Thomas, Thomaston, Conn. (Attributed to)

Seth Thomas (1785-1859)

CASE MODEL # N/A

MOVEMENT TYPE

#10 Balance wheel time only movement, may not be original to case. Movement is stamped "Seth Thomas, Thomaston, Ct. / Made in U.S. America" and has the Seth Thomas trademark.
There are no extra mounting holes on on the back of the case, however, I believe this movement is to late (c. 1901-1910) to be original to the clock. It appears that this case would have originally had a balance wheel movement, as there is not enough drop for a pendulum or weights. If anyone has one (or has seen one in original condition) and can advise as to what type of movement this clock originally had, please email me.

Seth Thomas & Son's was created in 1865 to manufacture marine and lever clocks. This firm was absorbed back into the Seth Thomas Clock Co. in 1879. I am not aware of any balance wheel movements made by Seth Thomas prior to 1865, so I am fairly confident that this case was made after 1865.

The reference from "American Shelf and Wall Clocks", by W.D. Ball, (listed below) indicates that this clock had a 30 hour time & strike balance wheel movement.

CASE SIZE & CONSTRUCTION Base="20, Height=36", Depth=3"
Mahogany veneer over pine case with inverted Ogee molding, and a substantial looking glass.

LABEL INFORMATION No label present other than the markings on the movement.

DIAL INFORMATION

The dial is old, but may not be original to the clock. It does fit the mounting seats perfectly, and has dove-tailed stiffeners. It is made of wood and has black Roman letters over an off-white background. The letters and the chapter rings are very well done if this is a replacement. The dial glass does appear to be original.
The dial is 6" x 6 1/2" and the chapter ring is 5". The dial glass is 12" x 6 1/2" and is held in place with wood strips.

MISC. FEATURES

The clock appears to retain it's original mirror which is 21" x 12" and is held in place with wood strips. The dial glass is reverse painted with a gold leaf ring around dial opening.

ACQUIRED FROM Christmas gift from KL in December 2005.

CONDITION WHEN ACQUIRED

Case in very good original condition, with original finish. Movement is dirty and will need to be cleaned.

RESTORATION January 2006 - Disassembled, inspected, & cleaned movement, re-assembled, oiled, and adjusted. Applied a coat of paste wax and buffed case, set clock to running.

HISTORICAL DATA

Seth Thomas's Case Factory c. 1885 in Thomaston, Conn.
This clock came out of an estate in Manhattan, NY. and the seller indicated that it was a Seth Thomas case, however, I'm not sure how he determined this claim. Until I can compare this clock to an original Seth Thomas Ogee Mirror, I will go with the previous owners information. Seth Thomas apparently did sell this case style for a very short time, but I have not been able to locate any that are in original condition or find any historical text that describes them in detail. My gut feeling is that this case is older than 1870, hopefully further research will result in more information.
Seth Thomas (1785-1859) apprenticed to Eli Terry. He along with Silas Hoadley worked for Terry from around 1807-1810 making wood tall case movements. This was the point in history were the mass production of clock movements started. Terry contracted to make 4,000 movements in three years, a feat which had never been accomplished before. Terry had introduced a method of using interchangeable parts to make these movements, an idea he had gotten from Eli Whitney. After the contract was fulfilled, he sold the business to Thomas and Hoadley who continued manufacturing the wood tall case movements. Thomas eventually bought out Hoadley's interest in the business, and began producing shelf clocks with Eli Terry's patented wood 30 hour shelf clock movement. Seth Thomas had an elaborate career making wood and brass movement shelf clocks, and his company became the most well known name in the clock business. In 1853 his company became the Seth Thomas Clock Co., and operated under this name until 1931 when it became a division of General Time Instrument Co. (Seth Thomas's Great Grandson was chairman of the board until he died in 1932). In 1949, The company became a division of General Time Corp. In 1970, became a division of Tally Industries, who still produces clocks with the Seth Thomas Trademark. The town of Plymouth Hollow, Conn. changed it's name to Thomaston in 1866 to honor the clock maker.

Seth Thomas started using brass movements in approximately 1840.

REFERENCES 1. "American Shelf and Wall Clocks", Robert W.D. Ball, 1992, clock shown on page 226. This reference indicates that the clock is circa 1850 and has a 30 hour T&S balance wheel movement.
2. "Eli Terry and the Connecticut Shelf Clock", Ken Roberts & Snowden Taylor, 1994
3. "NAWCC Bulletin Supplement # 9 - A Survey History of the American Spring Driven Clock 1840-1860", George Hills mirror clock with a Chauncey Jerome balance wheel movement.

NOTES A lot more research is needed on this clock to verify if this is actually a Seth Thomas case. I have seen similar cases in various reference books made by George Hills, Plainville, Ct. The construction of this case is very similar to this manufacture. The quest for knowledge continues.
We hung this clock in the master bedroom, assuming that the balance wheel movement wouldn't interfere with being able to get a good nights sleep. Boy were we wrong, the movement is very loud and with 240 beats per minute makes for a pretty restless night. I believe that once it winds down, it will be many years before we start it up again, unless we find another room to put it in!

Continue with selection:

Previous ClockNext Clock

Back to Pictorial Index

Back to Text Index

Please note, that our interests are in preserving and restoring horological items, we do not sell pieces from our collection or provide online appraisals. Any emails requesting values will be discarded. Sorry, but I am not an appraiser nor do I have time to provide this service. If your questions are of a historical nature, I will be happy to respond.

Updates

Main Clock Page

Email JD

Email KL

Legal Stuff: I have made every effort not to infringe on any copyrighted material. The images contained within these pages were either taken by myself, scanned by myself from engravings, or historic literature, or were available on the web. If you feel that a copyright is being infringed upon, please notify me by email. No part of these pages may be reproduced without the express written consent of the author ©2005-2009 Clocks Are Us

CLOCK STYLE	Ogee Mirror Wall Timepiece
CLOCK NAME	N/A
MANUFACTURE	Seth Thomas, Thomaston, Conn. (Attributed to) Seth Thomas (1785-1859)
CASE MODEL #	N/A
MOVEMENT TYPE	#10 Balance wheel time only movement, may not be original to case. Movement is stamped "Seth Thomas, Thomaston, Ct. / Made in U.S. America" and has the Seth Thomas trademark. There are no extra mounting holes on on the back of the case, however, I believe this movement is to late (c. 1901-1910) to be original to the clock. It appears that this case would have originally had a balance wheel movement, as there is not enough drop for a pendulum or weights. If anyone has one (or has seen one in original condition) and can advise as to what type of movement this clock originally had, please email me. Seth Thomas & Son's was created in 1865 to manufacture marine and lever clocks. This firm was absorbed back into the Seth Thomas Clock Co. in 1879. I am not aware of any balance wheel movements made by Seth Thomas prior to 1865, so I am fairly confident that this case was made after 1865. The reference from "American Shelf and Wall Clocks", by W.D. Ball, (listed below) indicates that this clock had a 30 hour time & strike balance wheel movement.
CASE SIZE & CONSTRUCTION	Base="20, Height=36", Depth=3" Mahogany veneer over pine case with inverted Ogee molding, and a substantial looking glass.
LABEL INFORMATION	No label present other than the markings on the movement.
DIAL INFORMATION	The dial is old, but may not be original to the clock. It does fit the mounting seats perfectly, and has dove-tailed stiffeners. It is made of wood and has black Roman letters over an off-white background. The letters and the chapter rings are very well done if this is a replacement. The dial glass does appear to be original. The dial is 6" x 6 1/2" and the chapter ring is 5". The dial glass is 12" x 6 1/2" and is held in place with wood strips.
MISC. FEATURES	The clock appears to retain it's original mirror which is 21" x 12" and is held in place with wood strips. The dial glass is reverse painted with a gold leaf ring around dial opening.
ACQUIRED FROM	Christmas gift from KL in December 2005.
CONDITION WHEN ACQUIRED	Case in very good original condition, with original finish. Movement is dirty and will need to be cleaned.
RESTORATION	January 2006 - Disassembled, inspected, & cleaned movement, re-assembled, oiled, and adjusted. Applied a coat of paste wax and buffed case, set clock to running.
HISTORICAL DATA Seth Thomas's Case Factory c. 1885 in Thomaston, Conn.	This clock came out of an estate in Manhattan, NY. and the seller indicated that it was a Seth Thomas case, however, I'm not sure how he determined this claim. Until I can compare this clock to an original Seth Thomas Ogee Mirror, I will go with the previous owners information. Seth Thomas apparently did sell this case style for a very short time, but I have not been able to locate any that are in original condition or find any historical text that describes them in detail. My gut feeling is that this case is older than 1870, hopefully further research will result in more information. Seth Thomas (1785-1859) apprenticed to Eli Terry. He along with Silas Hoadley worked for Terry from around 1807-1810 making wood tall case movements. This was the point in history were the mass production of clock movements started. Terry contracted to make 4,000 movements in three years, a feat which had never been accomplished before. Terry had introduced a method of using interchangeable parts to make these movements, an idea he had gotten from Eli Whitney. After the contract was fulfilled, he sold the business to Thomas and Hoadley who continued manufacturing the wood tall case movements. Thomas eventually bought out Hoadley's interest in the business, and began producing shelf clocks with Eli Terry's patented wood 30 hour shelf clock movement. Seth Thomas had an elaborate career making wood and brass movement shelf clocks, and his company became the most well known name in the clock business. In 1853 his company became the Seth Thomas Clock Co., and operated under this name until 1931 when it became a division of General Time Instrument Co. (Seth Thomas's Great Grandson was chairman of the board until he died in 1932). In 1949, The company became a division of General Time Corp. In 1970, became a division of Tally Industries, who still produces clocks with the Seth Thomas Trademark. The town of Plymouth Hollow, Conn. changed it's name to Thomaston in 1866 to honor the clock maker. Seth Thomas started using brass movements in approximately 1840.
REFERENCES	1. "American Shelf and Wall Clocks", Robert W.D. Ball, 1992, clock shown on page 226. This reference indicates that the clock is circa 1850 and has a 30 hour T&S balance wheel movement. 2. "Eli Terry and the Connecticut Shelf Clock", Ken Roberts & Snowden Taylor, 1994 3. "NAWCC Bulletin Supplement # 9 - A Survey History of the American Spring Driven Clock 1840-1860", George Hills mirror clock with a Chauncey Jerome balance wheel movement.
NOTES	A lot more research is needed on this clock to verify if this is actually a Seth Thomas case. I have seen similar cases in various reference books made by George Hills, Plainville, Ct. The construction of this case is very similar to this manufacture. The quest for knowledge continues. We hung this clock in the master bedroom, assuming that the balance wheel movement wouldn't interfere with being able to get a good nights sleep. Boy were we wrong, the movement is very loud and with 240 beats per minute makes for a pretty restless night. I believe that once it winds down, it will be many years before we start it up again, unless we find another room to put it in!