Timby Solar Timepiece mantel clock. Saratoga Springs and Baldwinsville, New York. Theodore Ruggles Timby.
The movement for this clock is located in the bottom of the case. It is brass and designed to run eight days on a full wind. It features a balance wheel escapement that is jeweled and is wound from the back of the case. This movement was most likely made by LaPorte Hubbell.
The dimensions of this case are as follows: 27 inches tall, 13.75 wide at the lower base molding and 5.25 inches deep.
A small number of these globe clocks surface in the public marketplace from year to year. Several are pictured in the horological literature. A similar example is pictured on page 174 in Lester Dworetsky and Robert Dickstein’s “Horology Americana.” One is on display at the American Clock and Watch Museum in Bristol, Connecticut.
A similar example is pictured on page 174 in Lester Dworetsky and Robert Dickstein’s “Horology Americana.” There is one on page 137 in “An Empire in Time. Clocks and Clockmakers of Upstate New York.” This book is written by G. Russell Oechsle, Helen Boyce and Collaborators.
About Theodore Ruggles Timby of Saratoga Springs, New York.
Theodore Ruggles Timby was born in New York state on April 5th, 1822. He was a very bright person. Some of the inventions he is credited with are a floating dry dock system for the shipping industry, the revolving gun turret (a version of this was installed on the Union’s ironclad, the U.S.S. Monitor) and a sighting and electrical firing system for heavy guns. Timby died in Brooklyn, New York in 1909.
This Timby Solar Timepiece was made by L. E. Whiting of Saratoga Springs, New York. He was a local jeweler. Inside the case attached to the back of the lower door is a label that reads: “TIMBY’S SOLAR TIME – PIECE, MANUFACTURED BY L. E. WHITING, SARATOGA SPRINGS, N. Y.†It then describes the clock as, “Illustrating the Diurnal Revolution of the Earth, and serving as a GEOGRAPHICAL EDUCATOR for the SCHOOL ROOM and the Family, Ornamental in the Parlor, and useful everywhere. The old and unmeaning clockface may now be banished from use as no longer desirable. The movements in these Time – pieces is the best ever made in America, and unsurpassed in Europe; the balance wheel is set in jewels, making it as a time – keeper equal to the best lever watch and regulated in the same way. WIND ONCE A WEEK REGULARLY. WARRANTED accurate and of perfect workmanship throughout.â€
Lewis E. Whiting is recorder in “American Clocks. Volume 3. American Clockmakers and Watchmakers.†This book was written by Sonya l. & Thomas J. Spittler, and Chris Bailey. Whiting is listed as working within the 1860’s. He is listed as working with Theodore Ruggles Timby. The company was formed in 1863 and lasted only 2 short years, (1865). The movements found in these clocks are reported as being made in Saratoga by either E. F. Rawson or more popularly believed by LaPort Hubbell. The clocks were sold by L. E. Whiting and he advertised that they were the Best made in America and unsurpassed in Europe… making it an excellent timekeeper…†These clocks were marketed to “Geographical Educators for the School room and the family.†It is said to have appealed to the prosperous transient population of Saratoga.
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