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Ansonia "NAVY" CLOCK - circa 1898 Spanish-American War — view 1 of 3
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Clocks · Clock

Ansonia "NAVY" CLOCK - circa 1898 Spanish-American War

DocumentedDocumented from an auction catalogue; attribution as stated by the auction house.
Maker / attribution
Ansonia (maker)
Date
c. 1898
Country of origin
United States
Object type
Clock
Materials / technique
brass, paste, gilt, gilt brass
Lot
Item 46972564
Credit line
Auction lot record: lot 958, Summer Feature Auction - Day Two, Thomaston Place Auction Galleries (2016), via LiveAuctioneers
Catalogue title (original)
ANSONIA "NAVY" CLOCK - Circa 1898 Spanish-American War (English)

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Record summary

Catalogued by LiveAuctioneers auction archive (lot Item 46972564), this is a clock by Ansonia, made in United States, dated c. 1898. The Atlas places it in the Industrial Revolution period (1850 – 1900) of its Clocks collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: brass, paste, gilt, gilt brass. The record is illustrated with 3 photographs.

Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.

Catalogue description

Lot description — Thomaston Place Auction Galleries

ANSONIA "NAVY" CLOCK - Circa 1898 Spanish-American War Naval Themed One-Day Novelty Clock in gilt brass and silvered spelter, the clock itself having a paste jewel rim, set into a ship's wheel atop an anchor, suspended from a block, hung from oars whipped together and raised on a 'knotwork' base, 30 hr brass spring driven movement with balance wheel escapement. 11 1/4" tall. Missing flag at top, wear to finish.

Historical context

Industrial Revolution (1850 – 1900)

American interchangeable-parts manufacture; railroad time standards; Swiss and German factory systems.

Factory production transformed the clock into an everyday object. American makers (Seth Thomas, Ansonia, Waterbury) and German factories (Junghans, Gustav Becker, Lenzkirch) sold millions of shelf, wall and alarm clocks worldwide; France produced standardised Paris movements and carriage clocks; electric time distribution began.

Read the period in the timelineMore clocks from this periodEarlier: Precision & Scientific Horology

Atlas type guide

Domestic clocks

A clock combines four systems: a source of power (falling weight, coiled spring, or later electricity), a gear train that divides time, an escapement and oscillator that regulate it (foliot, pendulum or balance), and an indicating system of dial and hands or a bell. Its history runs from the large iron weight-driven clocks of the late thirteenth century to Renaissance spring-driven table clocks, the pendulum revolution of 1656, the factory clocks of the nineteenth century and electric and quartz clocks of the twentieth.

Domestic clocks also reflect regional furniture and decorative traditions — English longcase and bracket clocks, French pendules, Viennese regulators, Black Forest and American shelf clocks — and therefore record changing tastes as much as technical progress.

What to look for

  • How the clock is powered: weights, spring barrel, fusee, electric coil.
  • The oscillator: foliot, short pendulum, long seconds pendulum or balance.
  • Whether it strikes: hour only (count wheel) or hours and quarters (rack striking).
  • The maker or retailer's name on dial and movement, and any factory trademarks.
  • Signs of alteration — replaced dials, converted escapements, 'married' cases.

Dating clues

  • Before 1656 clocks used foliots or balances; after, most domestic clocks have pendulums.
  • Anchor escapements spread after c. 1670; minute hands became common at the same time.
  • Factory production in America and Germany transformed prices after c. 1840.

General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.

Read next:Verge escapementAnchor (recoil) escapementFoliot

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