Antique Clocks in America
Background
Antique clocks in America owe their existence to centuries of
development in Asia, the Middle East and Europe that
terminated in the clock making regions of Germany and Great
Britain. These, of course, are the geographical areas that
provided the greatest numbers of early immigrants to America.
Among them came skilled clockmakers. The British immigrants
landed at ports that extended almost the entire length of America’s
eastern seaboard – from Maine to Georgia. The British clockmakers
primarily established themselves in Massachusetts and Connecticut
and to a lesser degree New York State and other New England states.
The German immigrants landed primarily at Philadelphia because
of the religious and economic freedom espoused by the Penns.
From there they moved into Berks and Lancaster Counties and
beyond to take advantage of the rich farmlands that were
available to them as land grants. Some Germans also landed at
New York, migrated up the Hudson River and then down the
Susquehanna River into central Pennsylvania. From there
subsequent migrations took them into the Shenandoah valley
of Virginia where they also thrived.
Regionalization of clocks in America
In America, although apprenticeships were common and the
expected way to learn a trade, the European style guilds no
longer played a significant role in the clock making arena.
Therefore, clockmakers, assisted by their apprentices and,
eventually by relatively unskilled labor, were able to make
substantial innovations in clock making unimpeded by the
rules of the guilds. Small clocks, such as wall, mantel, carriage,
kitchen and banjo clocks appear to have been produced primarily
in New England with a focus upon Massachusetts and Connecticut.
Tall case clocks were produced in New England and the Middle
Atlantic states with their characteristics being primarily English or
German depending upon the region in which they were manufactured.
It’s interesting to note that the German clock makers largely
continued in the European skilled craft tradition making
exquisitely crafted, precise, movements made primarily of
brass and steel. The improvements made to these clock
movements were generally incremental and occurred over
a substantial period of time. The impetus for this, especially
as contrasted to the New England clock makers, could have
well been that the long established German craft tradition had
not yet been affected by the Industrial Revolution that was
taking place in Great Britain. Further affecting the pace of
innovation was that the output of the German clockmakers
was largely long case clocks that required cases made by
equally skilled craftsmen. Only a very limited number of
cases could be produced, and these clocks were expensive,
obviating the need for an increased pace of production of
clock works.
Innovations in America
The English immigrants, on the other hand, although they
too produced fine clocks in various forms, saw that there
was a market for clocks made for the ordinary citizen. What
stood in the way was the cost of the clocks. Therefore, to
an enterprising clock maker the key to successfully addressing
this market was to find a way to reduce the manufacturing
costs of producing a clock. Thus, the need to reduce costs
was established. All it took was for someone to figure out
how to make it happen. That someone, in the person of Eli
Terry, Sr., did figure out how to significantly reduce the
manufacturing costs associated with producing clocks to meet
the needs of ordinary people. This was a highly significant
accomplishment that directly provided impetus to the rise of
American manufacturing.
Born in 1772, Eli Terry, Sr. apprenticed as a clock maker under
master clock maker Daniel Burnap. He also apparently received
training and knowledge from Timothy Cheney, a clock maker from
East Hartford, CT who was accomplished in the manufacturing of
clocks with wooden works. Wooden works were, at the time,
unusual, but would play a very significant role in Terry’s clock
making career. After his apprenticeship ended in 1792, Terry
began making and repairing clocks and watches, working in brass
and wood. In 1801 he received the first US patent for a clock
mechanism and his production of clocks with wooden works grew quickly.
Over time, Eli Terry purchased a water powered mill to produce
clock parts. The water drove a wheel that provided power
through gearing and jackshafts to drive saws and lathes that
were directed by jigs and fixtures. Using the jigs and fixtures,
interchangeable parts were created to facilitate the production of
clocks thus obviating the need for large numbers of skilled craftsmen
who could only produce 6-10 clocks each year. Terry’s genius was
in inventing machinery to mass produce clock components that
would require only limited finishing by skilled craftsmen. Subsequent
adjustment of the finished clock mechanism by skilled craftsmen
would then suffice to provide a clock that kept reasonably accurate
time. The major result of Terry’s skill and thinking was that the
clocks which started leaving the factory in large numbers in 1816
were the world’s first mass produced machines that employed
moving parts. And, it is especially significant that they were
inexpensive enough to be affordable by common people. Now
virtually every American family could afford to purchase a clock
and this was encouraged through newly devised installment plan
purchases. Frequent model changes also encouraged clock owners
to upgrade their original purchases with newer models. Doesn’t
that sound familiar?
The growth of clock manufacturing
All of this set the stage for substantial competition – competition
that very frequently infringed Terry’s many clock patents. From
this competition came clocks by Silas Hoadley, Chauncey Jerome,
Seth Thomas and many others. Eli Terry’s sons were accomplished
inventors and clock makers and produced their own consequential
innovations. Their derivative companies persist to this day. Further,
the ideas and concepts embodied in the invention and development
of a method for the manufacture of mass produced machines (in
this case clocks) encouraged other entrepreneurs to think and act
upon methods to mass produce other goods. Thus, the absolutely
incredible growth of manufacturing in and the associated export
trade of New England began.
This also began the transplantation and implementation in America
of the recently begun Industrial Revolution occurring in Great Britain.
The availability of inexpensive, reasonably accurate, clocks made
possible the social aspects that accompanied the Industrial Revolution.
That is, the ability of labor to be paid by the hour, arrive at and leave
the workplace at appointed times and observe work schedules while
at the workplace. It also marked he beginning of the movement in
America from an agrarian farm and sea-based economy to a city-based
manufacturing economy. To facilitate the emerging manufacturing
economy abundant labor was required. The need for labor caused
an internal migration from farms to rapidly growing cities and was a
powerful magnet for additional immigration.
American Clock Forms
American clocks occurred in many varied forms – many with strong
regional emphasis. Smaller clocks seemed to predominate in New
England and New York State. This is, of course, a natural outcome
of the invention, development and mass production of those clocks
in the region. The demand for inexpensive clocks that kept reasonably
accurate time was so great that a myriad of manufacturers were
established. Some manufacturers became very large and others
remained small but together they produced huge numbers of clocks.
Many regional manufacturers specialized in making clock parts that
they then sold to other clock manufacturers. Some of the clock
forms produced were:
· Shelf
· Pillar and scroll
· Banjo
· Girandole
· Lyre
· OG
· Bee Hive
· Calendar
· Lighthouse
· New Hampshire mirror
· Wagon spring
· Steeple
· Acorn
· Long Case
Future articles will describe these clock forms and their
manufacturers in further detail
