History of the Grandfather Clock

If asked if they knew what a grandfather clock is, most people would respond with a definite yes. Grandfather clocks are widely known throughout the world, and at one point in time owning one helped to define a person's upper class status.

The history of the grandfather clock starts believe it or not with Galileo. In 1582, he discovered that it was possible to tell time by swinging a pendulum. Fast forward a century to 1656 and Dutch scientist Christian Huygens became the first person to actually use a pendulum as the driving device inside a clock. However, it was a Dutch clock maker by the name of William Clement who realized that by making the pendulum longer time would become more accurate.

The only problem to this newest development was that a clock did not exist that was long enough to fit the pendulum. So in 1670, Clement built the first “long-case” clock then also known as a floor clock and a coffin clock. The usage of “grandfather clock” would not begin until 1876.

Supposedly, two brothers known only as Jenkins, who owned and operated the George Hotel in rural North Yorkshire, England, had a long-cased clock in the lobby of the hotel. The clock was said to keep perfect time until one of the brothers died. Then, no matter what, the clock would never keep the correct time again – always running behind. It did not matter how many clock smiths were brought in to fix it. It would only go slower.

When the surviving brother reached the age of ninety, he too passed away. On that very day the clock in the lobby stopped right along with the remaining brothers heart. The clock was said to have shown the exact minute the brother died.

Years later American songwriter Henry Clay Work visited the hotel. He learned the story of the two brothers and the clock that sat in the lobby. He was so touched that he wrote a song called “My Grandfather's Clock.” It became a popular song and long-cased clocks have been referred to this name ever since.

Merritt's Antique Clock Shop has a wide selection of fine American and European novelty and antique clocks at great prices. They are also a leading clock part supplier providing a way for hobbyist and repairmen to find all needed tools, books, and supplies.

What Makes a Clock an Antique?

With shows like Antiques Road Show, American Pickers, Storage Wars, and even Pawn Stars, more and more people have started to gain an interest in finding antiques and collectibles  However, just because something appears old does not make it an antique. So how do you tell if that old mantel clock sitting in your home is actually an antique? It may actually be a little harder than you previously thought.

The general consensus is that if it is older than 100 years old then it is an antique. However, as with all rules there are some exceptions. For instance, shelf and mantle clocks from the 1920s are considered antiques. Art Deco clocks, normally from France or Switzerland made in the 1930s are another exception to the rule.

If you know what type of clock you have, the next step is to determine how old it actually is. The first step is to see if the clock has a name, trademark, or signature on it. This will start to help narrowing down the age. This could, however, still be a roadblock as many clocks have the name of the retailer on them and not the actual maker.

After making sure that the actual movement is in the correct case, you can move on to the make of the clock to determine its age. Most models have specific times when they added different parts or features. This will help you have an idea of how far back the clock could date, but it still will not give you a specific age.

The style of the clock will actually be able to tell you more about the age than any other detail as styles continue to change over time. By combining this with the featured parts, any expert will be able to tell you around the precise date of the clock.

Other parts of the clock to keep in mind are patent numbers, serial numbers, trademarks, and labels. Any of these can help to determine the age of the clock, but keep in mind they can all be misleading, too. Some clocks have serial numbers, but they are definitely in the minority. Trademarks and labels can always be faked that is why it is important to not determine the legitimacy of the clock by these alone. Patent numbers can normally be found on the parts used in making the clock, but if replacement parts were added, this can be misleading unless you determine what is original and what is not.

When determining if your clock can actually be an antique, it is important to not base the age on only one of these factors. By gaining an overall idea of each category, you will have a more approximate idea of how old your clock is and if it really is an antique.

Merritt's Antique Clock Shop is a leading distributor of fine American and European clocks. They offer a wide array of mantel, wall, and grandfather clocks in both novelty and antique pieces. Also as one of the top clock parts suppliers, hobbyists and repairmen will have no problem finding books, parts, or tools.

History of Standard Time

Mankind has always had a way of telling time to keep some form of order. Some of the earliest forms of keeping time to schedule farming and knowing when to move from one area to another were hourglasses, sundials, and water clocks. Even pyramids and other tall structures were made specifically for keeping up with the time of the day and the seasons. Each of these worked for specific sects of people, but it would be a long time before one massive form of telling time would emerge.

What is currently known worldwide as standard time would not start to be developed until 1840 in Britain. This would be the first country to develop a country wide standard of keeping time, and it was all thanks to the development of the railroad.

The idea of uniform time is credited to Dr. William Hyde Wollaston, but it was Abraham Follett Oster who really got the ball moving. The Great Western Railway would be the first railroad company to adopt this idea of keeping time, but within seven years of doing so, most of the railways in London had taken up this same method. In 1847, the Railway Clearing House actually recommended that all railways make the adjustment as soon as the General Post Office permitted it. By 1855 most public clocks were using GMT, and others were combining it with their local time. Finally, in 1880 after a long stubborn route, the legal system passed the Statutes (Definition of Time) Act and switched to GMT also.

In 1883, the United States and Canada, who were still largely using local times, instituted standard time in time zones. This was also largely thanks to the role the railroads played in the countries; however, many areas would continue using local time. Detroit, for example, kept local time until 1900. After the City Council decreed to use standard time, half of the people refused, and shortly after the city returned to sun time until 1905 when Central Standard Time was adopted with a vote.

Detroit was not the only city in the U.S. or Canada to be hesitant about standard time adoption. The actual use of it would not become common practice until 1918 when the U.S. passed the Standard Time Act. This was the same year that Daylight Savings Time was adopted by the United States, and was the beginning of time zones that would actually (and still do) change over time.

Source: http://www.webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/d.html

Merritt's Antique Clock Shop offers fine American and European wall clocks, shelf clocks, and grandfather clocks at a reasonable price. They are also a well established clock parts supplier that offers clock and watch repair tools, supplies, parts, and books.

History of the Seth Thomas Clock Company

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.

Source: http://clockhistory.com/sethThomas/company/index.html

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.

Troubleshooting: Grandfather Clock Weights are not Moving

If you have three weights on your grandfather clock and none are moving, the clock is not going to chime or keep time.  Let’s look at the purpose of the three grandfather clock weights:

• Left Weight: powers the hour strike and count
• Middle Weight: powers the time train and keeps the pendulum swinging
• Right Weight: powers the Westminster chime melody

If the weight in the middle is moving downward and the left and right weights are not, this simply means your chimes are turned off. There is usually a lever on the side of the dial for chime on / chime off. Set this to “chime on” and your left and right weights will start moving downward over the course of a week. If your grandfather clock doesn’t have a chime on /off selector on the dial, look just below the dial for a rod hanging down which you may push up or pull down to start the chimes.

If your chimes are starting for the first time in a while, it may take an hour for the chimes to sync properly so the chimes are correct to the hour and quarter hour.

Source: http://www.grandfatherclocks123.com/clock-news/grandfather-clock-weights-are-not-moving

Merritt’s Antique Clock Shop offers fine American and European wall clocks, shelf clocks and grandfather clocks at reasonable prices. As a well established Clock Parts Supplier, Merritt’s offers any hobbyist or experienced repairman an extensive selection of clock and watch repair tools, supplies, parts and books.