166. $1000
Atkins Clock Co. “Thirty Day Octagon”,ca. 1875. The rosewood-veneered case is 26.5 inches in diameter with an 18-inch dial. Big and impressive. The finish
on the case is great and there is ripple trim around the outside; this clock is shown in Gregory & King’s The Clocks of Irenus
Atkins on page 55. The glass is old but appears to be a replacement. The wooden bezel is correct, but it may have been
grain-painted rosewood at one time. The metal dial is an aluminum replacement with matte paper dial that shows some wear marks
(between the I and II), and some oil staining at the V. The hands are as shown in the reference. The 30-day, time-only,
brass plate, double-fusee movement is running and you can restart a stopped pendulum through a narrow opening between the dial and
the case. But Atkins was cleverer than that. The entire front of the case lifts on a hinge at the top hanger; you depress
the metal button on the bottom to release the spring lock. On this clock the case was screwed into the backboard some time ago,
defeating this access to the pendulum and movement. Safer, perhaps, but that takes away the fun of “looking under the hood”! There is a great label inside. Gregory & King state “Of all the clocks produced by the Atkins Clock Company none makes the
statement ‘Atkins’ like the OG Atkins …this clock epitomized the spirit of the Atkins name and company…”. This exact clock sold
at Schmitt Horan last fall for $1400, although I think that was a reserve. $1000-$1400.
Antique American Clocks July 2022