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The American Clock T
he American clock industry was founded by immigrant clockmakers, mainly from England, who established extensive clock-making regions in Boston and Philadelphia. The earlier clocks were usually weight-driven longcase clocks. The makers depended largely on imported metals, and the signing of the Declaration of Independence cut off supply, forcing makers to turn to wood. Around the same time there was a growing demand for cheaper and smaller clocks than the longcase timepiece.
EARLY clockmaker Eli Terry (1772-1853) Several clockmakers devised methods that attempted to satisfy this demand. Possibly the most famous of them was Eli Terry (17721853) of Connecticut who accepted an order to deliver 4,000 wooden longcase movements within three years. He exploited the French watchmaker Frederic Japy’s idea of making all the parts of the clock interchangeable. Instead of having to finish one clock before starting the next one, he was able to put any
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number together from identical parts on an assembly line. His first factory was operated by a water mill. It took him one year to invent the machinery and set up the factory. Eli Terry was the first maker to mass produce a complete clock. Terry’s first clocks in 1803 were wooden, not unlike the German Black Forest clock movements. Later they were made from brass and steel, sometimes driven by wagon springs from 1825 to 1855. Weight-driven clocks were also common until the mid 1840s when the problem of producing steel springs commercially and cheaply was overcome. The factory was later sold to Seth Thomas who was largely instrumental in developing and popularising for the mass market what is now regarded as the typical American shelf clock. A shelf clock is two to three feet high, is contained in a rectangular wooden case and is weight driven.
AFFORDABLE American clocks Soon cheap American clocks flooded the European market and put many local clockmakers out of business. In Germany, in the Black Forest, the era of the wooden clock came to an end when American brass clocks were made available at prices well below local clocks. For nearly 200 years out-workers, who had specialised in different parts of the clock at workbenches in their homes, were now out of work. Erhard Junghans responded by setting up a clock factory on the American system, which was followed by a number of others.
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Another type of clock first developed in America was the torsion clock. Invented by Aaron Crane, it needed to be wound up only once a year. This invention gave rise to the mass production of the 400-day clock in Germany at the end of the 19th century.
MAIN features American clocks are known for their strong and vigorous ticking sound. They have a variety of different hourly, and sometimes half-hourly strikes, or can be timepieces only. They are of 30-hour or eight-day duration. Often a distinctive feature of the American clock is the decorated glass in the door which covers the dial and pendulum and is painted in either gold, silver or various colours with a scene, flowers or patterns. Today, there are still a great number of American clocks available. Some of the
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For someone starting out as a collector, buying an American clock is one of the most affordable beginnings.
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earlier models are very collectable, but they are hard to find. For someone starting out as a collector, buying an American clock is one of the most affordable beginnings.
WELL known makers The best-known American clocks are Ansonia, Sessions, Seth Thomas, E N Welch, Waterbury, Ingrams, Gilbert and Jerome. You should be able to buy a restored American clock of about 100 years old from about $400 upwards, but you could spend three to four times as much or more for the rare or earlier models, THE CLOCKWORKS 03 9578 6960