Antique Seth Thomas clocks—particularly wall clocks and mantel clocks—are treasured by clock collectors and antiques lovers who value craft and sophistication. Seth Thomas, born 1785, was an amateur clockmaker who began his career in earnest when he moved to Plymouth, Connecticut, in 1807 and became an apprentice to renowned clockmaker Eli Terry. In 1810, Thomas, with Silas Hoadley, bought Terry’s Connecticut factory. Three years later, Thomas sold his shares of Terry's factory to Hoadley and purchased a clock company that had been launched by another of Terry's apprentices, Heman Clark. There, Thomas began making tall clocks with wooden movements. Thomas added wooden-movement shelf and mantel clocks (often misspelled as "mantle clocks") to his line in 1817. His earliest antique mantel clocks can be identified by their pillar-and-scroll cases, usually with scenes painted on the bottom third of the cases below the clocks’ faces. Around 1830, Seth Thomas mantel clocks were frequently framed in carved mahogany. You can also date antique Seth Thomas clocks based on their movements: Brass movements replaced wooden ones in 1842 (wood was phased out entirely in 1845), which was also the first year that Thomas made mantel clocks with ogee cases (a type of molding whose profile resembles an S-shape curve), a practice that continued until 1913. In 1853, Thomas incorporated his business as the Seth Thomas Clock Company. Though an innovator when it came to production techniques and business, he was rather conservative when it came to the appearance of his clocks. So, after his death in 1859, Thomas' sons Seth Jr. and Aaron were quick to introduce new clock styles. Today, you can see the company's late 19th-century creativity in handsome antique wall clocks, regulators, spring-driven clocks, and clocks with calendars. Of the calendar clocks, the Seth Thomas wall clocks for kitchens were particularly popular. One early double-dial calendar clock made shortly after the founders’ death has a rosewood-veneer case that comes to points at the top and bottom to earn itself the nickname of "Peanut." Antique walnut kitchen clocks were produced from 1884 to 1909. One of the toughest competitors for U.S. clockmakers in the second half of the 19th century were the French clockmakers, whose clocks cased in onyx and marble were all the rage. In response, U. S. manufacturers made clocks that resembled those of the French, except instead of marble, they made their cases from less expensive iron or wood. Seth Thomas responded to the French challenge with its own line of marble clocks (1887 to 1895) and iron clocks finished in black enamel (1892 to 1895). But the Seth Thomas response that is best known today is its Adamantine black mantel clock, which debuted in 1892. Adamantine was a veneer developed by the Celluloid Manufacturing Company—Seth Thomas licensed the veneer because it could be produced in black, white, and a variety of patterns to replicate the look of wood, onyx, and, most importantly, marble. The Seth Thomas Adamantine mantel clocks were popular enough to remain in production until 1917. Another trend from the late 19th century was the practice of naming a clock after international cities. Seth Thomas did that, too, using names like Milan, Genoa, and Naples to evoke the style of a particular clock. The company also had a City Series of clocks named after U.S. cities. The antique Atlanta clock, for example, has a rosewood case with gilt details and a glass door that had been etched in a leaf pattern. Even Utica got its own clock. The City Series was produced for roughly 40 years. Antique Seth Thomas clocks were also named after presidents (Lincoln, Garfield) and royalty (Victoria). Others were named after universities, from Cambridge to Cornell. In 1865, the Thomas family also launched a subsidiary called Seth Thomas' Sons & Company, which produced a high-grade 15-day movement for mantel clocks. This enterprise lasted until 1879. After 1872, the Thomas family was also producing tower and street clocks. In the 20th century, Seth Thomas had such a reputation for high standards that it was known as the "Tiffany" of Connecticut clockmaking. The company introduced its first tambour clock in 1904. The low, wide profile of these mantel clocks made them perfect above fireplaces. Chime clocks followed in 1909, and electric clocks were added to the company’s catalog in 1928. In the 1930s, the family relinquished control of the company and it became a subsidiary of General Time Instruments Corporation. Of the prewar, 1930s Thomas clocks, the Art Deco alarm clocks (wind up-or electric) made of a colored plastic called Catalin are highly collectible. Unlike Bakelite, which was opaque due to its fillers of sawdust or carbon, Catalin is transparent, which made it easy to mix with dyes to produce rich colors. It could even be marbleized, which, for Thomas, recalled the company’s Adamantine clocks produced just a few decades earlier. Antique Seth Thomas clocks made between 1881 and 1918 are often marked with an ink-stamped code on the case bottom or back. The code consists of the year written in reverse followed by a letter (A-L) that represents a month ("4881 J" means "October 1884").