J.C. Brown Acorn shelf clock.

Jonathan Clark Brown was born in 1807. In 1832 he purchased interests in the Elias Ingraham and William Bartholomew Company. As a result, it became Bartholomew, Brown & Company and then later J.C. Brown when it moved from Forestville to Bristol, Connecticut in 1850.

This very desirable clock gets it’s name from the unusual shape of the case. If one looks closely at the top section of the case, you will notice the outline of an acorn form. In order to obtain this wild shape, the case and sidearms are manufactured in a lamination process. If one looks closely, you will notice the use of light and dark woods that help accentuate the form. The color variations are actually separate pieces of wood the have been glued together under tremendous pressure with in a mold. It is this process that allows one to achieve the exaggerated curves of the form. This example retains it’s original finish and as a result, the contrast has mellowed over the years. The current patina is excellent. The platform is veneered in rosewood. The graining is excellent. The entire front of the clock is hinged and used as an access door. This is fitted with paint decorated tablets. Both tablets are reverse painted and are original to this clock. The colors are excellent. The lower tablet is nicely decorated. The subject matter depicts a rural country scene including a gentleman sailing across a pond in a wooden boat. A small hill is positioned in the foreground that is covered in florals. Several trees, and majestic hills help form the background. A small country homestead is located on the left. This tablet does have a crack in the upper section on the right. This has been stabilized and professionally restored. The upper tablet is decorated with a painted green and yellow border. This helps frame the dial. The dial is painted on tin. It is signed \"Forestville Mfg. Co. Forestville, USA\" above the Roman hour numeral six. Colorful florals are painted in each of the three corners of this dial. The movement is brass and is die-stamped by the Maker on the front plate. The movement is a time and strike design and features fully detached fusees. The fusees are mounted in the lower section of the case. This movement is designed to run eight days on a full wind and to strike each hour on a wire gong that is mounted inside the case. The original green backboard paper and paper label are affixed to the backboard. Both are in excellent condition. This clock was made circa 1849.

This truly is an excellent example of a rare clock. It is not often that such a good examples surfaces in the marketplace. The vast majority of the examples that have surfaced in the last twenty years have all had fully repainted tablets which considerably affects the historic value of clocks like this one.