Seth Thomas was born in Wolcott, Connecticut in 1785, went
to work for clockmaker Eli Terry in 1807, bought out Terry’s factory (together
with Silas Hoadley) in 1810, and in December 1813 bought out Heman Clark’s
clockmaking business in Plymouth Hollow.
Thomas continued Clark’s wooden movement tall clock
production, and about 1817 began making the wooden movement shelf clock. These
were cased in pillar and scroll cases until 1830, when the bronze looking glass
and other styles became popular. In 1842, brass movements were introduced, and
first cased in the popular O.G. case (which was made until 1913). Wood
movements were phased out in 1845. In 1853 Mr. Thomas incorporated the Seth
Thomas Clock Company, so that the business would outlive him. Mr. Thomas died
in 1859, and Plymouth Hollow was renamed Thomaston in his honor in 1865.
After Mr. Thomas' death many new styles of clocks were
introduced by his sons. Spring driven clocks were introduced around 1855,
regulator clocks were introduced in 1860, and perpetual calendar clocks were introduced
around 1863. Some of the most popular
later types include walnut kitchen clocks, marble clocks, black wood mantel
clocks, black enameled iron cased clocks, oak kitchen clocks, tambour clocks,
chime clocks, and electric A/C clocks (introduced in 1928).
In 1930 a holding company named General Time Instruments
Corporation was formed to unite Seth Thomas Clock Company with Western Clock
Company. In 1955, a flood badly damaged
the Seth Thomas factory. They phased out movement manufacturing and began
importing many movements from Germany.
In 1968, General Time was bought by Talley Industries, and
in 1979 the headquarters was moved to Norcross, GA. In June 2001 General Time announced that it
was closing its entire operation. The Colibri Group acquired Seth Thomas. In
2009, the Colibri Group shut its doors and was later acquired by Alliance Time,
a division of Mont d'Or of America.
Merritt’s Antique Clock Shop offers fine American and European wall clocks, shelf clocks and
grandfather clocks at reasonable prices. In Merritt’s Clock Shop you can always
find a wonderful selection of antique clocks by Seth Thomas, Ingraham, NewHaven, Gilbert, Waterbury, and Ansonia Clock companies along with unusual
woodworks and spring driven clocks by earlier American clock manufacturers.
