146.             $350

J.C. Brown “Circus Tent” iron-front, ca. 1850. There is a great story to go with this clock:  Patrick Loftus found this clock in a trash heap by the roadside and picked it up, and gave it to me to sell in my January 2022 sale.  It was in pretty rough shape (look at the link) but is a highly sought-after iron-front by Mr. Brown.  The clock was listed at $50 and was won by Patrick Gooch; Patrick and Patrick live a stone’s throw apart (36 miles, to be exact).  I made $58 on the exchange, or $1.60/mile.  Gooch took the clock to Tom Moberg to be repainted and the clock you see here is the result of Tom’s efforts.  Gooch showed the clock to me, knowing I badly wanted a JC Brown Circus Tent iron-front.  I won’t say how much I paid Patrick to get this clock back to Lexington, but it was more than $1.60 a mile!  

The iron-front is 20 inches tall and 17.5-inches wide; note that the bottom left corner has broken off and is missing.  The case was both repainted and touched up, as much as possible as it was originally.  The dial glass and porthole glasses are modern, the porthole lacks a proper bezel and is not securely attached.  The dial is new paper, the hands period/original.  The 8-day, time-and-strike movement is signed J.C. Brown, Forestville CT USA; it is running and striking on a wire gong as expected. There is no label.  Sales of this model are few; Schmitt Horan sold one last fall for $1200; it had sold in 2019 for $2000. You won’t find a prettier one than this one – trust me, I’ve looked.  $350–$800.