Clocks · Clock
Clocks by Unidentified, United States, 1920-2013
- Maker / attribution
- Unidentified (Manufactured by); Citizen's Savings and Trust Company, American, founded 1920 (Commissioned by); Rev. Dr. Richard Henry Boyd, American, 1843 - 1922 (Subject of)
- Date
- 1920-2013
- Historical period
- Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
- Country of origin
- United States
- Place
- Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee, United States, North and Central America
- Object type
- Clock
- Materials / technique
- wood, copper, glass, plastic, metal
- Dimensions
- wood, copper, glass, plastic, metal; clock: 64 3/16 × 28 9/16 × 16 15/16 in. (163 × 72.5 × 43 cm); base: 7 11/16 × 32 5/16 × 17 15/16 in. (19.5 × 82 × 45.5 cm); electronics box: 2 15/16 × 8 1/16 × 6 1/8 in. (7.5 × 20.5 × 15.5 cm); lightbulbs: 4 5/16 × 2 3/8 × 2 3/8 in. (11 × 6 × 6 cm)
- Holding institution
- National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC
- Accession / object no.
- 2013.208.2a-p
- Credit line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture; Gift of Dr. and Mrs. T.B. Boyd, III and R.H. Boyd Publishing Corporation
- Catalogue title (original)
- Clock used by the Citizen's Savings and Trust Company
Record summary
Held and catalogued by National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC (object number 2013.208.2a-p), this is a clock by Unidentified, made in Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee, United States, North and Central America, dated 1920-2013. The Atlas places it in the Modern Mechanical Horology period (1945 – 1969) of its Clocks collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: wood, copper, glass, plastic, metal. Recorded dimensions: wood, copper, glass, plastic, metal; clock: 64 3/16 × 28 9/16 × 16 15/16 in. (163 × 72.5 × 43 cm); base: 7 11/16 × 32 5/16 × 17 15/16 in. (19.5 × 82 × 45.5 cm); electronics box: 2 15/16 × 8 1/16 × 6 1/8 in. (7.5 × 20.5 × 15.5 cm); lightbulbs: 4 5/16 × 2 3/8 × 2 3/8 in. (11 × 6 × 6 cm). The record is illustrated with 2 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
Description
A large rectangular clock and sign (2013.208.2a). The front and back of the clock has a stained glass sign that reads “CITIZENS / SAVINGS / BANK / & TRUST CO.” The clock is located under the stained glass sign on the clock's front. The body of the clock is constructed of copper metal. The sides of the clock are made of copper and have small vent-like patterns running from top to bottom. The back of the clock has an opening that reveals the inside electrical components of the clock.
Description
2013.208.2b is the base of the clock. The base is wood and rectangular in shape. The base has some cornice work at the top and bottom.
Description
2013.208.2c is a metal electronics box used to operate the clock. It has a black top and sides. On the front left is a metal switch indicating when the timer is on or off. On the front right is a red button for setting the clock. A red sticker with typed white letters above the button reads “PUSH TO SET CLOCK.” The back of the box has three holes where wires enter the box. The hole in the middle of the box has a label above it that reads “110 V .AC.” The other two holes are on the left side of the box. The left most hole has a label above it that reads “24 V. DC PLUS.” The other hole has a label that reads “24 V. DC MINUS.”
Description
2013.208.2d-k are frosted glass light bulbs that are oblong in shape. The top part of the bulb is wider than the neck, which enters a metal screw base. At the top of the bulb is a small Westinghouse logo within a circle, below which is the text “Eye Saving / 100 watt / 125V / USA.”
Historical context
Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
Tool watches for divers, pilots and astronauts; electric watches anticipate the electronic age.
Post-war clocks combined new materials and industrial design: plastic and metal cases, battery-powered transistor movements from the late 1950s, and design classics by George Nelson, Max Bill and others. The first caesium atomic clock (1955) moved the definition of time from astronomy to physics.
Read the period in the timelineMore clocks from this periodEarlier: Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking
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.
Related records
Clocks · 1905-1919
Mantel clocks by Unidentified, United States, 1905-1919
National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC
Clocks · mid 1980s
Clocks by Unidentified, United States, mid 1980s
National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC
Pocket Watches · 1850
Pocket watches by Unidentified, England, 1850
National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC
Wristwatches · early to mid 20th century
Wrist watches by Unidentified, United States, early to mid 20th century
National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC
Clocks · 1937; 1980
Clock by Bestone; Hammond, United States, 1937; 1980
Science Museum Group, London
Clocks · 1968
Table clock, United States, 1968
German Clock Museum
Clocks · 1873–2021
Clock, Poland, 1873–2021
The International Center for Information Management Systems and Services
Clocks · 20th century
Base Metal, 20th c. Bronze, marble and ivory clock by Chiparus
Victoria and Albert Museum, London