Featured Antique Clock Thread - SOMEONE Wasn't Wearing Protection....

Discussion in 'Antique Discussion' started by Ghopper1924, Nov 13, 2019.

  1. Ghopper1924

    Ghopper1924 Well-Known Member

    Imagine my surprise to find this little guy this morning. Evidently he takes after his mom....Mother and child are doing fine and ticking away. The proud papa is below.

    P1010335.JPG

    P1010336.JPG
    Oh, and in case you were thinking about taking this thread seriously......don't!
     
  2. KikoBlueEyes

    KikoBlueEyes Well-Known Member

    Absolutely wonderful clocks. :greedy::greedy::greedy::greedy::greedy::greedy::greedy::greedy::greedy:
     
  3. Ghopper1924

    Ghopper1924 Well-Known Member

  4. KikoBlueEyes

    KikoBlueEyes Well-Known Member

    Clever title too.
     
  5. Aquitaine

    Aquitaine Is What It IS! But NEVER BORED!

    How on earth do you find them "essentially" all the same......except for size!!!! WONDERFUL!!!!!
     
  6. Ghopper1924

    Ghopper1924 Well-Known Member

    OK, time to be an adult and 'fess up.....

    These clocks were all made by the same company, Welch Spring & Co., which was located in Connecticut, as were many 19th century American clockmakers. Welch, Spring & Co. was a subsidiary firm of the E.N. Welch Manufacturing Company designed to produce a more expensive line of clocks in the late 1870s, and the ones above are the result.

    Elisha N. Welch was a huge opera fan, and his favorite was the Spanish diva Adelina Patti. He named his new, best quality movement after her. Soon afterward the entire clock, case and all, became known as the "Welch Patti." The movement was patented in 1879, and he designed four different cases to be executed in rosewood and rosewood veneer, three of which you see above. All three were named after opera singers, the other two being the (Anna Louise) Cary and the (Etelka) Gerster.

    The "mom" on the left in the top photo is a Welch Patti. The one next to "her" is called a Baby Patti, for obvious reasons. It has a completely different - and much lower quality - movement, because of the restricted size. Best guess is that only about 100 of these were made. They're kind of a novelty item, but oh so hard to find these days; it took us over 3 years to find this one. The bottom photo is a Welch Cary.

    As Aquitaine noticed, the clock cases are essentially the same, and the movements of the two big clocks are also the same. The difference is in the crest of the cases; for some reason the Welch Cary is by far the hardest of the regular-sized ones to find. Both the Cary and the Patti have Renaissance Revival cases, while the Gerster has an early Eastlake-style crest. I can take a photo of the Gerster if anyone wants to see it.

    By 1885 these rosewood case clocks were being discontinued in favor of walnut, although some of these 1880s clocks are just as desirable. After Welch's death in 1887 the firm declined fast, with cheaper clocks in production by the 1890s. The wealthy Sessions family eventually bought the company and changed the name to The Sessions Clock Company in 1902. It all went further downhill through the 20th century.

    Cheers!
     
  7. antidiem

    antidiem Well-Known Member

    Very cool story and the clocks are lovely! :happy:
     
  8. Joe2007

    Joe2007 Collector

    I always enjoy seeing pieces from your collection Ghopper! I don't have any clocks to show at the moment but may in the near future. My father is fixing the mechanism in a clock I purchased a few months ago at an estate auction. Kind of neat, certainly antique, but nothing like those handsome clocks of yours!
     
  9. komokwa

    komokwa The Truth is out there...!

    nice clocks
    great story
    excellent find on the Baby Patti.....:happy::happy::happy::happy:
     
  10. wiscbirddog

    wiscbirddog Well-Known Member

    I would love to see a picture of "Gerster" !

    They are beautiful clocks & how awesome that you found the baby after looking for so long.
     
    KikoBlueEyes, kyratango, judy and 3 others like this.
  11. Ghopper1924

    Ghopper1924 Well-Known Member

  12. wiscbirddog

    wiscbirddog Well-Known Member

    Ghopper, your clocks are exquisite! TY for sharing them and their history with us. :D:joyful::D
     
  13. pearlsnblume

    pearlsnblume Well-Known Member

    I agree they are fantastic.
     
    Aquitaine, Ghopper1924 and kyratango like this.
  14. Rayo56

    Rayo56 Well-Known Member

  15. AJefferson

    AJefferson Well-Known Member

    What do you mean?? HE WAS ADOPTED!!! :wideyed::arghh:
     
  16. KikoBlueEyes

    KikoBlueEyes Well-Known Member

    :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D
     
    Ghopper1924 likes this.
  17. antidiem

    antidiem Well-Known Member

    :hilarious::hilarious:
     
    Ghopper1924 likes this.
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