101. $1200
Marshall & Adams Empire shelf clock, 1834-1836. Chauncey and Elmer worked out of Seneca Falls, NY, midway between Syracuse and Rochester; Chauncey had the money and Elmer the ability. Elmer bought out Chauncey in 1836 and continued in business on his own for a year, until the economic crash of 1837 put him out of
business. They manufactured both wood movement and brass movement clocks concurrently, the brass clock movements for the high-end
market. Their cases were modeled on those of Asa Munger, upstate New York’s most successful clock manufacturer. They (Adams)
made two 8-day brass movements, one based on Joseph Ives’ strap-brass movement, and a second much less common movement based on an
S.B. Terry movement. The latter is the movement used in this outstanding example of their work. Adams was particularly
fond of reverse-painted curtain tablets, as seen here; there was usually a paper lithograph inside on the backwall or, rarely, a reverse-glass,
silk-screened image as found here of the Saratoga Springs resort. Other significant features include the reverse-painted glass
entablature in the cornice, the glass door handles, and the large carved paw feet (turned feet in the back) on the 40-inch case in
mahogany veneer. All five glasses are original; the hands are replacements and there is no label that I can find. The
unsigned Adams movement is running and striking on a wire gong, driven by two large iron weights, and regulated by a period pendulum
bob. You won’t find an example any nicer than this one; it sold at R.O. Schmitt’s in 2012 for $3400. For reference, there
are no sales of Marshall & Adams clocks on LiveAuctioneers, and the Antique Clocks Price Guide (1999-present) lists 11 clocks,
three of which have the curtain glass (and one of which is this one). $1200-$2400.
Antique American Clocks July 2022
