The clock business in America did not become a prominent part of American culture until around the early 19th century. After Eli Terry made it affordable to manufacture clocks in America, other clock designers decided to become part of the industrialized clock age. Thus, Mass produced clocks in the United States took off and areas like Connecticut became home to the American clock.
This is the first part in a series devoted to the early American clock companies that helped to put American clocks on the same level as the European clocks that existed at and before this time.
The Ansonia Company
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| Ansonia Triumph Mirror Side |
Anson Greene Phelps did not start off in the clock business but rather in the brass business. In 1844, Phelps formed the Ansonia Brass Company in an attempt to supply the nine clock companies in Connecticut who were manufacturing clocks.
In 1850 The Ansonia Clock Company, also known as Ansonia Brass & Clock Co., was created as a subsidiary of Ansonia Brass Company. Phelps purchased fifty percent of the largest clock manufacturers business in Bristol, Connecticut - Theodore Terry and Franklin C. Andrews.
In 1877, clock maker Henry J. Davies joined the company as a founder when it moved to
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| Ansonia Teardrop |
In 1880, the Brooklyn factory burned down, and it was rebuilt and expanded on the same spot. By 1881, this factory exceeded the Connecticut's capacity and by 1883 the Bristol factory was closed. Success would only grow until huge debts were accumulated in the 1920s eventually resulting in the sell of company parts to the Soviet Union.
Today, antique Ansonia clocks live on and can be found in antique shops worldwide. They are a unique piece not only of American history but also of the way clocks have evolved in the last two to three centuries.
