Featured It's Ripple (Clock) Time

This was the Bargain of the Year for $15.00. Even with new bushings installed, it's still crazy cheap.

This is a "ripple front' clock made by Jonathan Clark Brown in Bristol, Connecticut (U.S.) ca. 1848. It's an early clock made for an individual household, and is also one of the first to use the energy of coiled springs rather than weights. The ripple decorative elements, executed in mahogany, were apparently made possible by a machine of Brown's invention that was destroyed in a fire in 1855. Although this look can be duplicated by hand in a very time-consuming fashion, the machine that originally made it possible has never been duplicated and ripple front clock cases are considered a lost art.

A small plaque inside the door states "G.W. Richardson Clintonville NY 1858." In the 19th Century Clintonville had a notable steel foundry, of which nothing is left today. The town is located west of Lake Champlain, close to the Canadian border. I don't know if Richardson was the owner of the clock, or the vendor.

In any case, this kind of thing is what makes antiques fascinating!

 

Thanks for sharing. That is a beauty

 

G.W. for George Washington. Died in Clintonville in 1893.

Debora

 

NICE! That price was a Come Get Me too. Heck, lunch costs more than that now.

 

A Timely purchase !!!!
Really unique , Hopper !!!

 

For a moment I thought this was going to be a thread about cryptocurrencies
Today's news
https://tradersunion.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/show/424629-xrp-rises-11-after-ripple/

 

I thought this might be a thread about Hammer Time.. LOL The song is now stuck in my brain

 

I'd like to see a close-up of that border. Beautiful clock.

 

and when u said crypto.....I thought u were going to bring up news about adult sex toys being thrown at sports venues !!!!!
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62w8215g4vo

 

I second that emotion!

 

((Looks at clock)) (thinks about "alternate uses") Uhmmm no. Although no doubt someone might make the attempt at some point.

 

Here you go... According to the 1860 census, G.W. Richardson was an overseer in an iron forge in Clintonville, NY. So owner, not retailer.

Debora

 

Well done, Debora!

So he was an overseer at the iron foundry that put Clintonville on the map in the 19th Century. Makes sense! It’s wonderful how the clock and history are intertwined.

 

I just love old clocks like this!!! What a find!!!!

 

@moreotherstuff and @Born2it

 

Could have been presented to him. Hence the plaque.

Debora

 

Way cool clock! It is a shame how little valued such things are these days. That has got to change someday..... Right? Have met some young people that are fascinated by old technology but not many. The supply exceeds the demand right now. Part of the problem is that they don't have any memory of these old clocks being a part of everyday life. Even most of their grandparents didn't have them.

 

Thanks for the close-ups. /i imagine his machine was an adaptation of a rose engine lathe.

 

Yours a 'Beehive' style as these Gothic arched were known as. The rippled case was a brief thing and costlier to do, hence pretty scarce. Other forms were also done by various makers . . rippled steeple cases were neat. Here's a Brewster mfg. rippled cottage case. Generally these deluxe clocks sell for 8-10 times what a plain counterpart with simple veneer would sell for. Saw a double decker steeple sell for $2,200 a few years ago.

 

that's Purdy !!!!!