1. $1000
Seth Thomas off-center
pillar & scroll, 1818-1822. An early pillar & scroll from Mr. Thomas, having purchased the right to manufacture this
patented shelf clock from Eli Terry in 1818. He settled on this case style after some earlier forays with slightly different
cases (eg., here and here), and eventually switched to the pillar & scroll format that is most commonly seen, using the standard
Terry-type movement. Off-centers are not terribly uncommon and have usually undergone considerable restoration, as this one
has. The case is 29.5 inches tall with the ST-style brass urn hollow finials (in three parts on steel posts); the mahogany veneer
is good, with some lifting on the scrolls and skirt, suggesting that it may have been replaced. I’m inclined to think that the
skirt, feet, and scrolls are replacements, as they are a bit thicker than is typical. Both glasses are old, the dial glass a
likely replacement, and the lower glass original but repainted properly. I would bet the wooden dial is original to this clock
– note the numbering style, the minute markers on the quarter hours, the simple gesso and gilding in the spandrels, and the floral
decoration under the mainstem. It is faded from excessive cleaning, spotted with stains of some sort, and is chipping in places. The hour hand is pewter, bent out of shape, the minute hand a proper replacement. The wooden movement is clean and will run
and strike, with a period pendulum bob and two proper lead weights, compounded on wooden pulleys as was intended. Unfortunately,
the label has been lost. AAC has sold four off-center P&S clocks with an average sale price of $2435. $1000–$1800.
Antique American Clocks July 2025
