76.              $250

Clarke, Gilbert & Brown triple fusee steeple, 1840.  These guys got together for one year in New York City to sell clocks but then reorganized into Clarke, Gilbert & Co., staying in business until 1848 under the new name.  Not sure if Brown was a part of it, or even who Brown was.  Here we have a 30-hour sharp gothic (steeple) with a triple fusee movement – time, strike, and alarm.  The wooden fusees are below the movement, with the springs behind the fusees.  The alarm fusee sits at the bottom of the case but winds through the bottom middle hole in the dial.  An unusual alarm mechanism, with just the fusee and spring remotely located.  The 20-inch mahogany case is clean with an old finish, the dial glass is modern and the lower tablet of a beehive period, with losses and rebacked with a copper paint.  The dial may hold the original paint in good condition; the hour hand is period, the minute hand an incorrect replacement. The 30-hour time-and-strike movement is unsigned and running, but the strike side is struggling.  The alarm was not tested. There is a wire gong for the strike and an iron bell for the alarm.  The label is stained but legible; note that Clarke’s name is lacking the ‘e’.  No sales records for this trio in the Antique Clocks Identification and Price Guide or on LiveAuctioneers, so this must be a rare clock; AAC has sold three triple fusee steeples in the last several years for an average of $286.  $250–$300.