177. $100
Jerome(s), Gilbert, Grant & Co. 30-hour
OG, 1839-1840. An early producer of thirty-hour brass movement OG clocks. The OG case is 26 inches tall with good mahogany
veneer on the outer edges and door frame, and birdseye maple on the case-front. The dial glass is period with considerable losses,
the lower glass and tablet are modern replacements. The dial is zinc with a grey finish that has been scraped off to reveal
bare metal, with some paint left between the numerals. Whatever Jerome was doing with these dials was a bad idea that has not
aged well. The hands could be original. The 30-hour time-and-strike brass movement is unsigned; it is running but the
strike is stuck. The backwall is papered in blue with a good card label; note the absence of the ‘s’ on the Jerome name, presumably
a typo, as the company included both Chauncey and his brother Noble, the inventor of the brass movement used in these early clocks. After a year Chauncey and Noble bought out their partners and the company became Jerome & Co., and shortly thereafter Chauncey
bought out his brother and the company was all his. They all remained friends and would go out for beers after work. $100–$150.
Antique American Clocks JANUARY 2025