156.            $150

E.N. Welch “Ionic”, ca. 1872.  Sometime around 1880 Welch discovered that the name “Ionic” was already in use by Ingraham clocks, so to avoid patent infringement they changed the name of this clock to “Alexis” (see Ly, Welch Clocks, Second Edition, page 486).  This clock was sold before the name change and so retains the Ionic name and label.  The case is 22 inches long with a 10-inch dial; the rosewood veneer is beautiful with a great finish, and the wooden bezels retain some of the original grain-painting.  Note the hand-carved “bow tie” trim piece – the catalog illustration in Ly’s book on Welch clocks (page 216) shows this pattern with a date of 1872.  Simpler patterns were used on later models.  The dial glass is modern, the lower glass original with the original well-preserved tablet.  The dial is paper on the original dial pan, and the hands are original.   The 8-day time-only, ladder movement is signed and running confidently with a fancy early pendulum bob.  The black label inside is hard to read, but the info is there.  Even with the paper dial this is about as nice an example of this clock as you are likely to see.  No recent sales of this model or the equivalent Alexis No. 2.  $150-$250.