Seth Thomas 10-Inch Drop Octagon wall clock. A smaller school clock finished in a dark stain. 224101.
This “Drop Octagon Ten Inch” was made by the Seth Thomas Clock Company of Thomaston, Connecticut. This form is commonly called a “School House” clock because it was used in schoolrooms across the country.
The wooden case is finished with a dark stain to simulate the brown color of walnut. The color is excellent. The lower door is fitted with glass. The glass is painted black and gold from the back. The center is left undecorated so one can see the brass-faced pendulum bob.
The spring wound movement is brass construction. It is a time-only design and features a die-stamped front plate with the Maker’s trademark and the number 41AE. This movement is spring wound being fitted with a Geneva Stop winding mechanism. This model is an eight-day example. The pendulum bob is covered in brass. It can be viewed through the opening in the painted design on the lower glass in the front of the case.
The dial bezel is brass. The painted dial measures 10 inches in diameter and features Arabic-style numerals. The manufacturer’s name is on the dial, which reads in block lettering, “SETH THOMAS.”
The Maker’s label, “DIRECTIONS / FOR / Setting Up This Clock,” is pasted inside the clock onto the backboard. The condition of which is good.
This Seth Thomas wall clock measures approximately measures 21.5 inches long and is an outstanding example. It was made circa 1910.
It is inventory number 224101.
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.
