Posted 10 years ago
Kydur
(103 items)
Of the dozen or so clocks I have this is the oldest (I think) and most prized. There's also an interesting story of how I acquired it.
At a summer yard sale I bought several baggies of old spring-wound watch parts - from wristwatches and pocket watches. The seller got them many years ago from a retired watchmaker and was using them for various crafts.
One of the volunteers helping out commented that she wondered who would be interested in all the watch stuff, and that she had an old clock I might be interested in. It belonged to her father (who was a clock maker) and nobody else in the family wanted it so it was mine if I wanted.
We arranged to meet a couple of weeks later and she gave me the Waterbury clock in the photos! The weights and pendulum were carefully bubble-wrapped as it had been moved about for a few years. It started ticking after the initial wind and has kept perfect time... as long as I remember to wind it every 30 hours.
Unfortunately someone in her family had at some point scraped the paint off the glass because they didn't like the building or whatever was painted there. Then later it was repainted with the blotchy colour you see in the last photo.
A week or so later she called and asked if I was also interested in some La Perle clock oil that her father had used in his clock repair business. So we met again. You can see photos of the clock oil in another posting.
From the research I've done I think I've determined it was built around 1845... anyone know for sure?
It's an "O.G." Circa is probably more along the lines of 1880 give or take a decade. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the info Bruce. I'm wondering what criteria is used to date these clocks since when I search online I get date results from 1840 onwards? It seems that the 30-hour clocks (as opposed to the 8-hour clocks) have older dates. Mine is a 30-hour clock.
I derived the 1845 date after finding a clock that looked just like mine (with the same painting on the glass front) on a clock repair/sale site. There must be little nuances in these clocks that are used to determine their date of origin if they were made for 40 years (1840-1880). What features on the clock should I be looking for to properly date it?
Often a manufacturer would offer these cases with either a 30-hour or 8-day movement until the 30-hour movements fell completely out of production. You are right though. The 30-hour movements are generally older.
My date information came from a reference book on Waterbury Clocks. I didn't consider the painted tablet since you stated it wasn't original to the clock. What are the dimensions of the case? Do you see any dates on the label. They may be very small near the bottom edge. Such a date may be when the label was printed and not when the clock was manufactured/sold but they may provide a clue.
The painted glass is original, except for the part that was scraped off (the part in the center where a building might've been, ) and then repainted in that slate blue colour as seen in the last photo closeup. All the trees and people in the foreground are original.
Apparently someone in the family of the previous owner didn't like the building (for whatever reason) and obliterated it; sort of like the way the ancients would knock the noses off of statues from previous dynasties I suppose!
The case dimensions are 15.5" wide and 25.75" tall. Unfortunately I can't access the clock close enough to see the label any clearer than what's in the 3rd photo. The clock is in an alcove on a staircase; I can reach the door in order to wind it through the stairway balusters from above, but it took two of us and a special scaffold ladder to mount it on the wall so it's not coming back down very easily for closer inspection at this time.
Hi Kydur. The closest match I see in my Reference Book (Tran Duy Ly's "Waterbury Clocks & Watches" copyright 2001 page 397) measures 25 7/8" tall. The width is not given. The tablet painting in my illustration is of a Rose but I imagine there were many different patterns offered through the years. The scene may, or may not be an indication of the date of manufacture. I don't know. The example I'm referring to was simply called "O.G." in Tran's book. Reportedly from circa 1881. It came in Mahogany or "Zebra". With our without alarm. All options used a One-day movement. Models with 8-day movements were usually a little taller to allow for a longer weight drop and were available in the 1880's. I suspect that your clock would be in the 1880 era but I could be wrong. Brass clock movements were starting to be put into large scale production around 1939-1940. They started out as 30-hour movements. We would need to see the movement itself to get a better idea of when the clock may have been manufactured. There may also be patent information stamped in one of the movement's brass plates. Patent designs were sometimes manufactured for decades but it would offer a clue as to how early the movement *might* have been made. Hope that helps a little with your research. Thanks again for sharing.
Thanks for more info Bruce. When I originally looked online for these clocks I did manage to find one at an auction house website that had the identical painting on the glass (tablet) - they had dated it at 1845, which now sounds erroneous based on the comments here. I've since tried to find that site (and photo) again with no luck. I don't know why I didn't save the link - or better yet the image itself - as a future reference in case I decided to get the painting redone. One of those braincloud moments I suppose.
After having taken apart the Black Sessions Mantel clock (to thoroughly clean it) and discovering how pithy the wood was around the screws I've been wary of doing anything to this Waterbury since it's even older. I suppose sooner or later I'll remove the movement - or probably just the hands and dial/faceplate - in order to oil it and take a closer look for any clues that may help date it. When that time comes I'll be sure to take photographs (as well as better photos of the label inside the case) and post them.
Yes, that's pretty commonly seen especially in clocks which have been serviced. The old & soft Pine wood cases don't stand up well to repeated removal and replacement of the wood screws...especially if the screws are over-tightened. If you ever ship the clock, do so with it laying down so that the movement is not pulled away from the case during all the handling. You can "tighten" the screw holes. Some folks resort to using fatter screws (don't go longer!) Some folks just insert several toothpicks in the holes with or without glue. I think one of the better methods is to mix up a paste of hardwood sawdust and wood glue and push it into the enlarged/torn out holes. If you have trouble replacing the screws in their proper position (very important for orientation of the movement/hands) you can drill a small, shallow pilot hole into the hardened paste.
I had squeezed a bit of Weldbond glue into each hole of the Sessions clock before reassembly hoping that it would mix with the all the existing wood-dust and make for a tighter grip on the screw. Good to know my intuitive method was the accepted one! I like the glue and hardwood dust paste idea and will use that in the future.