62.             $10,000

Silas B. Terry vertical balance wheel sharp gothic, 1849-1852.  In 1845, at the age of 73, Eli Terry was still inventing clocks.  He patented the balance wheel escapement used in this clock.  It should be noted that Terry’s patent was for a “friction preventer” that was needed for vertical balance wheels; the balance wheel (lever) escapement had been incorporated into clocks earlier by clockmakers like Charles Kirke (Bailey,NAWCC Bulletin 412:606, Nov/Dec 2014).  The use of a balance wheel eliminated the need for a pendulum.  Eli’s son, Silas Burnham, used this mechanism in oversized steeples, as found here, and in some shelf clocks (as found here).  They were complicated and expensive to make, and so never caught on.  The steeple case is 24.75 inches tall and 13.25 inches wide with two old and likely original glasses and a period tablet.  The mahogany and rosewood veneer is in very good condition, with some well-done repairs if you look closely.  The tablet has just a few small touch-ups.  The cone finials are likely original, with a slight loss to the top of the right finial.  The dial board is wood, the paint and numbering are old with strengthening of the number ‘30’ above the mainstem.  The hands are old but may not be original, as the minute hand seems a bit short. The seconds hand is likely a modern replacement.  Terry used steel springs (which he had patented about that time) to drive this clock, eliminating the need for weights, but used fusees to equalize the force of the springs over a full run (in this case, just 30 hours); in this clock the fusees are located to the lower left and right of the movement, and the springs are located behind the fusees.  In another example the fusees were placed above the movement in the steeple peak; this latter format is considerably rarer.  The cords are not connected to the winding drums in this example, and so it could not be tested.  You can make that your project.  There are two large openings in the dial, one to view the escapement (which beats seconds, as indicated by the seconds hand) and one to allow you to be awed by the large, and unusual, balance wheel.  There is a good but faded label inside, noting Eli’s invention used in this clock.  There have been several sales of this model in the past decade or so that I can find: most recently (2014) at Schmitt Horan for $14,000; in 2012 at Skinner’s for $8000, and in 2009 at Skinner’s for $4000.  AAC sold a rarer model last winter for $21,000; that one was exceptional.  $10,000–$15,000.