186.              $350

M. & E. Blakeslee 30-hour column & splat shelf clock, ca. 1832.  If you check for these guys on LiveAuctioneers or the Antique Clocks Price Guide you will find plenty of entries, but if you check Spittlers & Bailey, Clockmakers & Watchmakers of America you will find little information on this duo.  Who were they?  The label says Plymouth CT, but the only information in Clockmakers says they were in Heathenville CT, dated to 1832.  Well, it turns out Heathenville was just a stone’s throw from Plymouth, and M. and E. are brothers Marvin and Edward.  You’re probably glad I cleared that up.  BTW, there is no Heathenville in Connecticut now, probably because no one wanted to live there. 

Now about the clock, it stands 29 inches tall with good mahogany veneer all around and outstanding original bronze stenciling on the half-columns and splat.  There are paw feet in front and turned feet in back.  Both glasses are original, with the original putty and an outstanding tablet with minimal losses; there is a sealed crack in the upper right corner. I think this tablet is outstanding.  The wooden dial has been cleaned extensively, with the wear showing, but the gilt-gesso decorations are again exceptional.  The hands are period.  The 30-hour time-and-strike wooden movement is running and striking, with two old weights, a bob, crank, and door key.  New tin dust covers on top, and a clean label inside.  It’s easy to look past clocks like this these days, but this one deserves a second look.  $350-$500.