This neat little shelf clock was made around 1865. The label says:
Made and Sold by
Seth Thomas,
Thomaston,
Connecticut.
The movement is labeled:
S. Thomas
Plymouth Conn
U S A
The town Plymouth Hollow, Connecticut was renamed to Thomaston in honor of Seth Thomas around 1865. Thus, this clock was made around 1865 or a year or two later.
The case is 14 3/8″ tall and 9 27/32″ wide. The minute hand is 2 11/16″ from center to tip. Notice the “ST” hands. There is an “S” in the minute hand and a “T” in the hour hand. These hands advertise Seth Thomas.
This is a one-day clock with an attractive round spring-driven movement. There is an alarm setting disc in the center of the dial, but the alarm movement is missing. It was attached to the backboard to the left of the coil gong.
I disassembled and cleaned the movement and adjusted the escapement. There is little wear so I did no repair work. It runs great. The time mainspring could be thinner (and thus weaker) and the clock would still run well. American spring-driven antique clocks were often made with mainsprings that were stronger than necessary.
The 1863 Seth Thomas catalog shows the “Cottage” and also two companion models, the “Parlor” and the “Octagon Top.” The catalog images show mirrors in the doors. But, I’ve seen examples with the same black and gold design as in the “Cottage” example shown above.
If you have an antique clock you’d like repaired, please see my clock repair website.
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