Silas B. Terry Empire shelf clock, ca. 1835.  A 38-inch column & cornice case with cleaned mahogany veneer and a rare round brass, eight-day, weight-driven movement.  Both glasses are old, the upper glass likely a replacement (newer putty), the tablet likely repainted and behind a wooden cover.  There are some good repairs to the veneer and the carved splat may be a replacement; the four ball feet are modern.  The wood dial is clean and in excellent condition, the hands are proper but not necessarily original. The dial board has four corner mounting brackets and is pinned to the case.  The round movement on a square brass backplate is seen rarely; note the unusual bridge over the escape anchor.  It is running and striking, driven by two old 8-day weights and regulated by a period pendulum bob.  There is a good and typical label on the back wall.  This is the Terry version of this movement, with the semicircle bridge over the escapement; Seymour, Williams, & Porter (no relation to my knowledge) made a similar movement with a standard anchor escapement mount.  R.O. Schmitt sold a very similar example in 2016 for $1200.   $600–$1200.

Thanks to Milton Barber for catching my error of stating that Seymour, Williams, & Porter (still no relation) made a similar movement without the unusual bridge.  It was not these three, but Williams, Orton, & Preston who made the similar movement. Of no particular importance, the Williams in the two firms is not the same person.     

Antique American Clocks                     JULY 2023