160. $200
S.B. Terry & Co. miniature cottage, 1852-1853. Terry
had been marketing these small clocks with his ladder movement under his own name for some time; this company lasted only one year
before being dissolved when Terry formed the Terryville Manufacturing Company to make his newly patented (1852) torsion spring escapements. Finding clocks with this label is, as you would expect, difficult. To be more accurate, I can’t find any. The case is
10.5 inches tall and would likely have been covered with a patterned paper originally. Clocks that retain their original paper
are highly valued. Both glasses are old; the milk glass transfer shows some losses. The dial has old paint and a floral
decoration not seen on other examples; it is old, but I don’t know if it is original. The hands are period. The 30-hour
time-only ladder movement is running enthusiastically. There is a good label inside, perhaps alone worth the admission price. The most recent sale of a similar example (but not with this rare label) was at Nadeau’s Auction in 2021 for $275. $200-$500.
Antique American Clocks January 2023