Antique American Clocks January 2021
123. $500
Hiram Welton “Improved Time-Piece with Alarm”, ca. 1840. This is an early Hiram Welton
clock and notable for its miniature size (24 inches). Welton took over the Eli Terry Jr. business in 1841 but it failed
by 1845. It is unclear if this clock was made in that period or prior to that in the 1830’s. He went on to make brass
movement clocks, and these are the ones you find most often by him, and his brother Heman. Note the label “Made and sold
at Terrysville, Plymouth, Con.” This uses a 30-hour time and alarm movement that is running. As best I can tell
these clocks were grain-painted rather than veneered; there are a couple of examples on LiveAuctioneers of similar grain-painted or
decorated time-and-alarm clocks by Mr. Welton. As you can see, unfortunately there is no veneer and no grain painting on
this clock. The columns and splat would also have been painted or bronzed; it appears the columns here were originally
white based on the remaining paint. Both glasses are old and perhaps original, based on the putty; the tablet was repainted
by Tom Moberg. The wood dial appears original and is in pretty good shape; the hands and the alarm ring also appear to
be original. There is a good label inside that matches labels found on other Welton miniature timepieces. The
three sales on LiveAuctioneers were in 2011 and all were for over $2000 (one sold at Tim’s Inc. Auctions for $6500), but all retained
the distinctive grain painting characteristic of Welton’s early clocks. We’ll have to settle for less here. $500-$750.