A RARE Seth Thomas Model 2 Pillar & Scroll with fancy scroll-work and ivory inlays—the BEST of its class. ZZ-63.
Of the five Eli Terry Pillar and Scroll style clock movement models, The Model Number 2 was made in pretty significant numbers. The proof is that examples turn up in the marketplace occasionally. The challenge for the most discerning collector is finding an example that has been appreciated and was well preserved during its chain of ownership. This clock is over two hundred years old. Locating an example that retains its original horns, feet, returns, and painted tablet can be challenging. The opportunity to purchase an example with its original woodwork and reverse-painted tablet may be presented to a collector once a decade. Imagine finding this version in nearly perfect original condition and decorated with ivory inlays. How lucky can one be? When I first saw these inlaid clocks pictured in the horological reference books, I was suspicious of the inlaid decoration as not being period. I suspected these ornate examples had been embellished some hundred years after their original production. But after seeing this example, I became a believer. This is a fantastic clock.
This is a very attractive example of a Rare Pillar & Scroll shelf clock made and sold by the Seth Thomas Clock Company in Plymouth, Connecticut. Regular website readers should have noticed that I seldom use the term rare to describe a clock, but this clock certainly deserves that title.
The case is veneered in figured mahogany and retains an original finish. The feet, scrollwork or frets, horns, all three cast brass finials, side returns, colorfully painted wooden dial that displays the hours in Arabic numerals, brass hands, eglomise tablet having only minor losses and minor restoration, strap wooden geared 30-hour movement, lead weights, brass covered pendulum bob, cast iron bell and ivory decorative inserts are all original to this clock and for the most part, are in EXCELLENT original condition. The only modification to this original clock is the unfortunate loss of the Clockmaker's label. It has been removed. One might notice that the opening in the painted scene is not centered. This is because the movement design mounts to the pendulum in an "off-center" position. As a result, this version is cataloged by Snowden Taylor and Kenneth Roberts as a "Model 2 Standard." The hole in the dial is a window that allows one to view the escape wheel.
This 30-hour wooden geared shelf clock was made circa 1818 and stands 30.5 inches tall.
For additional information, please read Eli Terry and the Connecticut Shelf Clock by Kenneth Roberts.
Inventory number ZZ-63.
Seth Thomas was born in Wolcott, Connecticut, in 1785. He was apprenticed as a carpenter and joiner and worked building houses and barns. He started in the clock business in 1807, working for clockmaker Eli Terry. Thomas formed a clock-making partnership in Plymouth, Connecticut, with Eli Terry and Silas Hoadley as Terry, Thomas & Hoadley. In 1810, he bought Terry's clock business, making tall clocks with wooden movements. Seth chose to sell his shares in the partnership in 1812, moving in 1813 to Plymouth Hollow, Connecticut, where he set up a factory to make metal-movement clocks. In 1817, he added shelf and mantel clocks. By the mid-1840s, He successfully transitioned to brass movements and expanded his operations by building a brass rolling mill and a cotton factory. In 1853, He incorporated the business but continued to be the majority shareholder. This clock business expanded until it became one of the "BIG Seven" in Connecticut. Their product line had offerings that competed at every price point, from kitchen clocks to precision regulators. Seth Thomas died in 1859. The community of Plymouth Hollow so revered him that they changed the name on July 6, 1875, to Thomaston in his honor. After his death, his son, Aaron, took over the company's leadership. Aaron is credited with increasing the business by adding a number of new case styles and improving production methods. The company went out of business in the 1980s.
