86.              $150

Smith & Goodrich 30-hour triple fusee alarm steeple, 1847-1852.  A 20-inch case in mahogany and rosewood with two period/original glasses, the tablet a decalcomania of the President’s House from across the Potomac.  The signed dial is original and has been professionally retouched.  The hands are proper, but the minute hand may be a modern replacement.  The 30-hour time, strike, and alarm triple fusee movement will run and strike (although the gong wire is missing); the alarm will not wind.  Note that the pendulum rod is suspended from the top of the case; I believe this would allow this clock to run longer than 30 hours but would require a change in the gearing. If you have insight into this, please let me know.  I’m always amused by a fusee alarm; I guess they wanted the alarm strike to be at a constant rate no matter how long it rang.  I just want an alarm to be off.  There is a good green label on the backwall.  $150–$250.

I posted this clock on Facebook for comments; several thought the overhead suspension was a later modification, and suggested I run the clock and see if it kept time.  It did, indicating that the movement was properly modified to run with the longer pendulum.  I believe the clock was built to use an overhead pendulum so that it would run longer than one day; a slower beat means that it unwinds more slowly while still keeping time.  I did not test how long it would run, but you can do so if you are the lucky winning bidder!  Your comments are welcome.