Clock, Shelf

Object Name:

Clock, Shelf

Object ID:

1970.035.09

Creator:

Williams, Orton, Prestons & Company

Place of Origin:

Farmington, CT

Date:

circa 1840

Description:

Shelf Clock. Manufactured and sold by Williams, Orton, Prestons & Company, Farmington, CT; c. 1840. Vertically oriented rectangular door with two glazed panels; clear glass above and decorated panel below. Upper panel 9 3/4" in height, lower panel 13 3/4". Case with flat base and cornice having carved eagle crest with flanking plinths. Door flanked by recessed, applied split balusters, both turned and carved; each baluster extending between applied corner blocks. Turnings of ring and reel types alternating with longer sections of carved foliage. Painted scene on face of lower glass panel with mountains beyond lake at left and stairway ascending through trees at right; Painted in shades of blue, green, brown, white, gray, and black; later replacement. Door secured with steel lock having an applied, lozenge-shaped, brass escutcheon. Square, painted wooden dial, beneath upper glass panel, with Roman hour numerals and pierced hands differing in design and material, the minute hand being brass, the hour hand steel. Painted decoration, much worn in gilt and green, partly in relief. A ring of dots around center of dial and triangular spandrel borders composed of s-curved elements are the only designs now recognizable. Two winding holes, one with brass grommet, below center of dial. Terry-type thirty-hour wooden movement with strike. Carved and turned elements probably of cherry. Remainder of visible surface of case veneered with mahogany. Dial probably tulip poplar. Secondary woods: white pine and assorted hardwoods (movement). Large printed label glued to inner surface of lower backboard reading in part: "Improved / Clocks / (With Br[ass] Bushings) / Manufactured and Sold / by / Williams, Orton, Prestons, & Co. / Farmington, Conn." Illegible pencil inscriptions inside door. Separately stored parts: pendulum bob, winding key, two cast iron weights (cylindrical).

Material:

Wood
Mahogany
Glass
Metal

Dimensions:

H-32.125 W-17 D-4.75 inches

Provenance:

Part of the collection assembled by Mr. and Mrs. Harry K. Rogers. Donors purchased New Hampshire antiques, often at auction, for use in their Suncook, NH, home.

Credit Line:

Mr. and Mrs. Harry K. Rogers Collection, Bequest of Josephine P. Rogers

People:

Rogers, Harry (1886-1961)