So, my sister also loves clocks

After not having visited my sister in some time I was surprised to find that she is an avid clock collector. I must stress the word collector because although she appreciates the beauty of each clock she has acquired over the years how they run is somewhat of a mystery to her and that is just fine. While visiting her this summer three of her clocks were out of adjustment and it took no time (no pun intended) at all to get them running again. No sense paying someone to do it, that`s what brothers are for.

In my opinion the most interesting clock she has is a French time and strike bracket clock that has no visible markings yet appears to be over 100 years old. It is in beautiful condition with only a slight patina on the finish. I would love to have found out more about this clock but my stay was brief. Perhaps next time.

The next clock is one my sister absolutely loves and it is a great sounding Westminster chime grandmother clock she bought some 20+ years ago. This quarter chime clock made by Craftline Industries in the early 1990s has a Canadian made case with a German movement, likely by Hermle.

Next is a curiosity. When I saw the Sessions name on the dial I wondered why I had not seen this particular style of Sessions clock. Further investigation revealed it to be a six pillar Adamantine Seth Thomas case. The movement was clearly marked ST and as I said the case is certainly a Seth Thomas. So, why the Sessions clock face? Likely the original dial face was so badly marred as to be unreadable that the owner many years ago simply told the clock repair person to find another face, which he did. Since the replacement was a Sessions electric clock face he had to drills the holes to accommodate the winding arbors. Who would know! To those less knowledgeable it looks great.

Session Seth Thomas mantel clock — Sessions / Seth Thomas mantel clock

I found this little antique time-only Hamilton and Co. French-style carriage clock made in India (Calcutta) to be very interesting and so diminutive. Hamilton and Co. is probably the best known and most celebrated British clock maker in India. I would put this clock at around the 1890s. It probably needs a good cleaning since it is not in working order.

Hamilton and Co Calcutta — Hamilton and Co. Calcutta

I am not a huge fan of steeple clocks but this Waterbury clock is in very good condition save for a damaged right steeple tip. The Waterbury Clock Company is one of many 19th century Connecticut-based clock firms with a history going back to the 1850s though it closed is doors for good in 1944. More memorable are Waterbury wall and mantel clocks but like many makers of the day they had a successful line of steeple clocks.

Next is a New Haven time and strike tambour style mantel clock from about the late 1920s or early 1930s. Aside from the grandmother clock which my sister bought new the New Haven mantel clock was a wedding gift of her late husband’s parents and has been in the family ever since.

Lastly, this Chelsea ship’s bell clock is a polished beauty. A ship’s bell is used to indicate the time aboard a ship and hence to regulate the sailors’ duty watches. Unlike normal clock bells, the strikes of the bell do not correspond to the number of the hour. Instead, there are eight bells, one for each half-hour of a four-hour watch. Three bells, for example, would mean that a sailor would be 1 1/2 hours into a 4 hour watch. Each watch would take its turn with the essential activities of manning the ship’s helm, navigating and keeping a lookout.

I was quite impressed with my sister`s collection and each clock occupies a special place in her home. I find it facinating going into peoples homes and discovering the joy they experience in collecting, be it clocks in this case or anything for that matter. Collectors are truly unique people!

September 13, 2016

My clock and Mickey Mouse are related!

Anyone who collects clocks knows that Waterbury clocks have had a long and illustrious history but did you know that the modern day Timex watch can trace it’s roots all the way back to the Waterbury Clock Company?

Let’s start with my Ingersoll-Waterbury time and strike mantel clock that I picked up late last year (2015) and following which we will explore this most interesting company.

This mantel clock was sold to retail outlets by the G.R. L’Èsperance Company of Montreal, Canada who advertised themselves as the sole distributor. “Made in Canada” it says on the case but as is typical of clocks sold in Canada before and during the Second World War the movements were made in the USA, assembled and shipped to Canada to be installed in cases that were sold in many stores across the country. Other clock companies such as Seth Thomas established a similar practice. Aside from the very rare Martin Cheney clocks made in Montreal in the mid 18th century, the only clock company that made their own movements and built their own cases was the Arthur Pequegnat Clock Company based in Kitchener, Ontario in the early 1900s to 1941.

This Ingersoll-Waterbury mantel clock was made in 1943 and likely very popular at the time.

clock face — Clock face showing somewhat flimsy hands

It has a conventional pendulum adjusted by a small arbor under the “12” and the company logo “W” in raised relief on the bob. It has a common recoil escapement. The clock face is paper with the inscription “Waterbury” on top of the “6” and”Made in Canada” below it.

operating instructions — Label showing instructions for operating the clock

The label is a generic one found on a wide variety of clocks to save printing costs. The swinging front panel door is unique to this clock and there is a small catch underneath the right hand side to secure it.

The hands may look very ornate but they are in fact quite cheap looking. A quick search on the net reveals that are, in fact, original. The inexpensively made hands and paper face are not unexpected for a mass produced clock.

clock movement — Time and strike movement

The veneers on either side of the back panel were split open when I first received the clock but clamping and carpenter`s glue tightened things up. It is very common for clocks of this vintage to have chipped or missing pieces of veneer which unfortunately reflects their cheap construction. However, this clock presents well and is free of serious flaws on the case itself.

The Waterbury name has been around since 1857. From my research I found that in 1922, the Waterbury Clock Company purchased the Ingersoll operation whose business had begun to decline after 1910 and had gone bankrupt two years previously due to poor management. Waterbury’s operation was particularly hard hit by the Great Depression of the 1930s. Clocks were considered luxury items and many could ill afford a timepiece for the home.

By 1932, their huge factory complex was almost idle when demand was so low. The company avoided bankruptcy and the firm was reorganized as the Ingersoll-Waterbury Company with investors raising half a million dollars in new capital. During this period (1933) the popular “Mickey Mouse” character watch was made and electric clocks were added to the line which revived the company. The Mickey Mouse watch was known as the “mouse that saved the day”. Draw any conclusion you wish.

After the USA entered World War II, the Ingersoll-Waterbury Company switched almost entirely to manufacturing war products though a small number of clocks were still produced. However, in 1942, the company was purchased by a group of Norwegian investors and a new factory was built at Middlebury, CT. Two years later, in 1944, the firm changed its name and became known as the United States Time Corporation. They introduced the widely popular “Timex” watch a year later. In November, 1969, U.S. Time was succeeded by Timex Corporation (now Timex Group), whose corporate headquarters are located in Middlebury, CT. to this day. The Timex museum, located in Waterbury, Connecticut, USA, is said to be “both the birthplace of Timex, and of modern timekeeping”.

So there you have it. My clock and Mickey Mouse are indeed related!

April 19, 2016

Waterbury “Arion” Small Octagon Short Drop wall clock

A diminutive size, this clock was made around 1930 just a couple of years before the Waterbury Clock Company was placed in receivership. It is a solid oak case measuring 19 inches long by 12 inches wide, with a paper dial marked Waterbury, a black and gold pendulum aperture, and 8-day time-only movement. The bottom of the dial says, ” Made in the USA by Waterbury Clock Company”, Connecticut.

While the clock is a strong runner there are obvious issues concerning the paper dial and the lack of a brass bezel. The dial plate does not have to be changed out but the clock is in need of a brass bezel, hinge and convex glass. Although the style might be slightly different on a replacement bezel, it is clearly required to complete the look. I have decided to retain the paper dial as an exact replacement is impossible or so I have found so far in my research. Half of the paper dial has become unglued from the dial pan. Two-sided tape in three locations was the fix. I may touch up the numbers 7, 8, and 9. We`ll see.

RS Waterbury Octogon short drop (10) — Pendulum bob

The Waterbury Clock Company was incorporated in the city of Waterbury, Connecticut, on March 5, 1857. Up until the Great Depression Waterbury had been quite prosperous. But like so many companies, most of the profits lined the pockets of its Directors instead of being reinvested in new equipment and updated facilities thus hastening its rapid decline. In 1932 the company was bought and re-organized under the name Ingersoll-Waterbury.and in later years the company morphed into the Timex Corporation. If you peruse the Timex site today you will see a line of Timex watches called the Waterbury collection. Timex is certainly acknowledging a link to its past.

RS Waterbury Octogon short drop (8) — Instructions for the clock

The instructions came with the clock and I smiled when I read them. “The long hand is the minute hand and the short hand is the hour hand”.

A inexpensive acquisition and only a few dollars to add glass and a bezel to complete the clock.

February 14, 2016

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