59.      $400

F. Kroeber “Musical No. 5”, ca. 1888.  Here’s a clock you don’t often see: a Kroeber Musical. It plays a 30-sec music-box tune on the hour, instead of striking.  The catalog says it plays a popular tune, but that was in the 1880’s; I don’t recognize it today.  The case is enameled iron, 10 inches high and 14.5 inches wide; the finish is glossy in most places with some chips here and there, particularly on the front right side.  The gold incising is bright and there are faux marble insets on either side.  The two-part porcelain dial is signed ‘FK’, with a few chips and cracks around the winding ports.  It sits behind a beveled flat glass.  The 8-day embossed movement matches that shown in Ly’s Kroeber Clocks on page 263 and is running, keeping time, and playing a tune every hour.  You can listen to the tune here; it does not play loudly and would even be appropriate in a bedroom.   Two push-pull levers on the right turn off the sound or cause it to play immediately. There are two labels on the bottom, one may be a repair label.  Horton’s sold one in 2003 for $1300 (it’s the only Musical listed in the Antique Clocks Price Guide), but a more recent sale at Harris in 2008 was for $300.  The consignor is looking for $400 or better and is probably justified for this uncommon clock.  Includes a signed Kroeber key and rate adjustment key.  $400-$600.