The Seth Thomas Clock Company. The "Hotel" in a walnut case. 219016.
This clock was made by the Seth Thomas Clock Company and was cataloged in 1900. It is called the “Hotel.”
This example stands 18 inches tall, 14 inches wide, and just under 7 inches deep. The case is constructed in walnut and retains an older finish and very color. The sides of the case are fitted with decoratively carved panels. A depiction of a woman’s profile is centered in this panel as a medallion. The front door of the clock is decorated with carved quarter fans that frame the fitted glass opening to the dial. A brass trim ring is attached to the interior of the door and secures the glass in the opening. This door opens to access the painted dial, which measures approximately 8 inches in diameter. The dial pan retains its original painted surface. The hours are indicated with Roman-style numerals. This dial also features a subsidiary seconds dial and the Maker’s trademark. The spring-driven eight-day, time-and-strike movement is constructed in brass. The front plate of the movement is die-stamped by the Maker. It features a Geneva Stop winding mechanism and a seconds hand. This movement is designed to run eight days on a full wind and to strike each hour on the hour on a wire gong. This wire gong is advertised as a Cathedral Bell. It sounds wonderful. The bell stand is die-stamped with a patent date. The pendulum bob is brass. The rod is made of wood.
This example is in very good condition and is ready to enjoy. It was photographed before it was serviced.
Inventory number 219016.
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.
