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119.             $150

Ephraim Downs looking glass shelf clock, ca. 1830. Downs went west in 1815 when he was 28 to work with Read & Watson in Cincinnati, having worked previously for several clockmakers in Waterbury CT.  He likely met the Ohioans as a clock peddler and decided to stay.  He returned to Plymouth CT in 1822 when Read and Watson split up, and moved to Bristol in 1825, making clocks for George Mitchell and others.  He marketed this clock under his own name, but it bears clear resemblance to Chauncey Jerome’s original looking glass clock, with the door opening from the right and a mirror in the lower section.  The case stands 37.5 inches tall on carved paw feet that don’t look original. The bronzed columns and splat do look original, the mahogany veneer is in good shape.  Both the dial glass and mirror are modern; the wooden dial is very colorful and a high point for this clock.  The hands are proper and period, but the hour hand tip has been shortened a bit too much.  The wooden 30-hour movement runs for a minute or two and will strike correctly.  There is an iron bell and two 30-hour weights, and a good label inside.  $150–$300.

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Antique American Clocks                     JANUARY 2025

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