161.              $750

Wm L Gilbert Clock Co. “Office Drop Calendar”,ca. 1881.  Is this not one of the most beautiful calendar clocks of the 1800’s?  It’s just a simple calendar (the only mechanical calendar part is the date hand), while you move the month and weekday indicator dials with a pin or pencil once a month to rotate them into the correct position.  This model is  often referred to as a Maranville, who patented the rotating dials calendar, but this clock does not use the Maranville patent as it uses pins rather than the clock key to rotate the inner dials (a clever way to bypass the patent).   The 34-inch walnut case has burl walnut veneer on the front and carvings top, middle, and bottom. The dial glass appears to be original, the lower glass is a modern but appropriate replacement.  The dial is old paper, hand-lettered, over metal disks (these dials were always paper); the three hands are not as shown in the catalog illustration (Ly, Calendar Clocks page 94) but are acceptable.  The 8-day, time-and-strike brass, spring-driven movement is die-stamped Wm Gilbert Clock Co. Winsted, CT and is running without effort and striking on a Gilbert wire gong.  The pendulum looks correct, the interior label is severely degraded and not legible.  AAC sold one in 2022 for $1595.  $750–$1200.