Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Time...extended

My curiosity has been piqued since the last post and i decided to do some diggin' (and a couple of the readers were interested too). Here's what i came up with on the clock:

The manufacturer is the William L. Gilbert Clock Co. Winstead, Connecticut (click the link for some very interesting information on the founder and the company itself). This particular make and model is the circa 1865 "Owl" Mantle clock. The clock itself and the surrounding cabinet were all made by the same company.

Here is the exact same clock, except for the etchings in the glass, at a dealer. Notice the "150 years old and still works" note. In all honesty, i don't really care of the value that a dealer placed on it...it could be worth 10X that and i wouldn't even think about selling it.

Funny thing, i didn't mention that when i wound it up and started it the other day, it has been chiming three hours ahead of the correct time. The visual time was correct, the chime was just off...so this morning i decided to see if i could correct the miscommunication within. At 9 a.m. it chimed noon...so i stopped the pendulum, ran the hour hand to noon, and waited three hours. At noon, i tipped the pendulum again and voila...she works perfecto!

Now that the manufacture mystery is solved...a new one opens...exactly how did it come all the way from Winstead, Conn. to Kay County, Oklahoma...eventually to find its way onto my Grampa's desk? The King's Mother has stated that she has no recollection of that story...nor does the King's esteemed and venerable Aunt. The answer may lie with the Reverential Uncle, the eldest of the three. There is the possibility that one of the four remaining siblings of Grampa might know, but i'll have to wait for next years reunion for that...and hoping they are all able to attend.

But for now...i'm just content to listen to the sleepy gentle tick tock and every half hour the ticklish chime...sometimes if the hour's right i get an extended version.

3 comments:

inpassing said...

I had to laugh about your chime happening at the incorrect time. It reminded me of an Andy Griffith episode where he took a clock in to be repaired at Emmett's. Emmett returned it repaired with a list that told Aunt Bee that at 12 o'clock it chimed 3 times, at 5 o'clock it chimed just once...well you get the picture!

It's nice to have things around that remind of times gone by.

Bag Blog said...

Wow, I love Antique Roadshow!

Anonymous said...

Given the manufacture date, I bet it was brought out there by someone who headed west at that time.

I have a Gilbert Clock as well, around the same vintage. My parents bought it in an antique store, so I have no romantic story to go with it. My mom gave it to me when she retired and moved to Maine. I love that clock!