1. $1200
Joseph Ives New England mirror clock, ca.
1820. Joseph Ives invented and patented this “reeded pilaster” mirror clock that is so popular today. The mahogany-veneered
case is 54 inches tall (57 inches with the center brass ball finial); the veneer is clean and without repairs. Note the burled
walnut corbels on either side of the dial, and the undamaged scroll-top. The brass finials are modern replacements, but of a
style commonly seen on this model. The upper and lower glasses are old/period, and both are probably replacements, as the putty
is newer. The glasses were appropriately repainted by Tom Moberg. The mirror is last century. The painted dial holds
old paint with very minor touch-up, while the hands are unmatched and wrong. It is difficult to find hands in the style that
Ives originally used. The steel-plate, roller-pinion movement is proper to this model, but this case has seen other movements. There are two appropriate rectangular 12-lb weights and the movement runs, but the hands don’t move. I have seen this problem
before, but it is beyond my skill level to repair. There is an iron bell on a replacement bell mount, and the clock does strike
if you advance the hands. There are two original case-top pulleys, and the interior has the original mottled blue-green stain
that Ives used; there is no label, and never is to my knowledge. The black area at the bottom of the case was carved out to
accommodate a pendulum from an earlier movement (probably with a pendulum suspended from the back of the movement). This is
a better-than-average example of this desirable clock; AAC sold a similar example three years ago for $1500. $1200–$1500.
Antique American Clocks january 2025