The chapter met on July 15, a sultry Saturday morning marking the end of Brimfield week. Entering the Edmond Town Hall's quaint, cool basement, members found much to spark their interest and conversation.

Pictured here discussing recent findings are Lu Sadowski, president of chapter 2, and previous organizer of the Timexpo, with Peter Belliveau.

Items spotted on mart tables included a triple-box Waltham deck watch ca. 1920. Collector/restorer David Follett, who purchased this treasure, cheerfully exhibited it at his table. The watch was in original, running condition, with a superb walnut case and brass trimmings. The case was missing one of its lids used to keep out sea spray as a ship's watchman made his rounds. We left David happily planning the lid's accurate restoration with friends.

Another object that attracted well-deserved attention was an early-to-mid-19th century wall timepiece with the label of John Peacock, probably American, hitherto unknown (see photo). Research efforts are underway.

Running the announcement and raffle aspects of the meeting fell to Don Bruno, and he accomplished these tasks with characteristic grace.

Between drawings, it was my great pleasure to converse with the wise and witty Audrey Drucker of Long Island, partner in WatchBandWorld.com.

 
Our guest speaker was Girard (Gerry) Kevorkian, of Delray Beach, FL. At an auction nearly forty years ago, Gerry's dream of owning a true American original, a J.C. Brown acorn shelf clock of 1847-1848 (worth as much as $30,000), seemed to slip away. Upon reflection, Gerry decided to develop an affordable reproduction of this clock (see below photo).

Gerry's achievement is no small accomplishment. Elaborate steaming, bending, and press-forming processes, not to mention scarce materials required for this classic rendered it very costly to produce in its own time. Gerry began by studying existing examples in museums, and by experimentation, -- the latter at first resulting in failure.

Gerry shared some of the unique challenges and his own techniques for reproducing the acorn clock, including cutting kerfs in basswood for the clocks' sides, and soaking the pieces to render them bendable. Although some of the materials Gerry utilizes are inexpensive; others, for example, the solid mahogany base, are not. The clock's door must be cut from a single costly mahogany board to provide the required durability.

The clocks also require enormous amounts of finish work in the form of sanding, filing, shaping, and trimming. Tablets depicting J.C. Brown's residence are hand painted offsite. Currently, the clocks come fitted with Hermle 8-day movements.

Gerry has produced an amazing total of fifty-seven original reproduction acorn clocks. Orders require a lead time of eight weeks to fill. Gerry's diligence and achievements provided inspiration to all in attendance: we thank him for sharing his experiences so generously.

Chapter members Walter Weber and his wife Ethel have been scouring mart tables together longer than most of us can remember, and their pleasure in doing so is quite contagious. Walter and Elthel's collecting interests ranges from the technical to the whimsical. Explaining that a previous chapter highlight sparked the memory of a past discovery, Walter brought along one of his most exciting finds ever to share with friends. Much to members' awe, the couple presented an 18-size New York Standard Watch Company watch -- with a straight-line lever and extremely rare worm gear escapement, in mint, running condition! Walter explained that R.J. Clay of Jersey City, the company's home, received a patent for this model on October 16, 1886. Clay and William Hanson of Brooklyn, NY, modified the patent during the following year, and their firm produced the watch only during 1888. This remarkable object's escape wheel is situated perpendicular, rather than parallel, to its balance wheel. Although 12,000 were made, Walter explained that few survived. As he and Ethel helped me photograph it, Walter politely declined several offers to purchase the watch. Sorry, but Walter Weber's watch was difficult to photograph freehand. The worm gear is located inside the star-shaped opening.

Expert clock dial restorer, Frank Machera of Pleasantville, NY, provided a workshop for chapter members in his genteel art. An early student of New York City's School of Industrial Arts, now the New York City School of Art and Design, Frank has professionally returned many dials damaged by accident, catastrophe, and less than desirable storage conditions to their former glorious beauty.

Frank explained his methods for tracing evidence provided on damaged dials with pencil, and transferring the tracings back on to the dial using carbon paper or graphite. Arabic numerals may be outlined with India ink using Rapidograph technical pens and a T-square, then brushed with rapid strokes. Several coats of gold powder dissolved in varnish or Liquitex (a latex with gold) provide an alternative to gesso for building up small raised gold areas within the dials. The latex product is opaque, and spills clean up easily using soap and water.

Frank generously shared information on equipment and supplies for dealing with various types of problems encountered in dial restoration. Examples included versatile Paasche air brushes, templates, Krylon primer for wood or metal, and all-purpose sheetrocking joint compound for filling cracks and chips. Based on the examples provided, Frank''s materials and methods, combined with his professional training, skill, and research relative to trademarks and examples, not to mention fifteen years of experience intensely focusing on dial restoration, yield truly fabulous results.

A Canadian correspondent has contacted our chapter seeking an example of a Samuel Canfield, Middletown, CT, tall clock case in connection with a restoration project. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the chapter.

The Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism will feature the American Clock and Watch Museum in Bristol, CT, as a venue for its "Connecticut Open House" tour on June 10. Admissions to the museum and other historic properties on that date will be reduced or free, and will feature music, refreshments, and children's activities. All are cordially invited.

As I wandered from table to table, an outstanding collection of 19th century pocket watches caught my eye at the table of John Hotz of Valley Stream, NY. I stopped to admire an American Watch Company (P.S. Bartlett) 18-size key-wind, key-set watch with a solid balance wheel, relatively low serial number, and hunting style case. Besides several "stage coach" watches, I was also attracted to a 15-jewel Illinois Watch Company 18-size lever-set "transition" watch, having both crown-wind and key-wind features. Not the least of my pleasures in tarrying at his table were the lessons John provided in pre-World War I Eastern European history in between descriptions of each terrific watch.

The March mart was also a fantastic day for reference books, both new and rare. Among many treasures spotted were a reprint of an early work on milling and milling machines originally published in 1919, and Michael Balfour's The Classic Watch, 2002 (see photo of Kathy Kaddis holding the book).

The March meeting celebrated the American Clock and Watch Museum (ACWM) of Bristol, CT with a presentation given jointly by Chris Bailey, the museum's horologist since 1972, well-respected for both his knowledge and candor, and Don Muller, the museum's amiable and dedicated executive director, on the history of the museum's collections and of its inner workings. We learned that Edward Ingraham of Bristol established the non-profit museum in 1952 as he sensed the decline of Connecticut's clock industry and the need to preserve his own collection then housed on the third floor of his home on Grove Street. Ingraham feared the collection's dispersal would result in the loss of part of America's industrial history with important local ties. As luck would have it, Ingraham enlisted the support of a local collector and Terry family decedent, banker Charles Treadway.

Chris and Don opened a dialog on ways to deepen connections between the museum and chapter members. A trend toward increasing competition has hurt the tourist trade including museums nationwide. The museum is essentially a library of objects and artifacts, and members are encouraged to call, email, or write freely to let Don and Chris know if they have specific suggestions for programs or exhibits to meet their needs and interests.

The ACWM recently mounted a new exhibit that features a complete set of Seth Thomas jewelled watches, visible from both front and behind. The core of this great collection was provided by Dan Gaenger of Florida.

The museum has also received inquiries from a local television station that wants to do a program featuring the museum's capable clock winders, chapter members Mel Brown and Paul D'April. Stay tuned for an update.

 
Have you visited NAWCC's home page?

The American Clock & Watch Museum in Bristol, Connecticut

The Timexpo Museum

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