Seth Thomas Lobby wall clock. This is the Lobby - 14 having a 14 inch dial and a walnut. Gallery Clock. II-142.
The “14-inch Lobby” can be a challenging model to find. It is cataloged as the “14-inch Lobby” and was made by the Seth Thomas Clock Company circa 1909. This example is a timepiece and does not strike. The additional winding arbor on the dial winds the additional time spring. As a result, this clock will run 30 days before needing to be rewound. Therefore, you can hang it high to wind it only twelve times a year compared to an eight-day clock, requiring 52 windings over the same period.
This fine example is cased in old oak and retains an older finish. This model features several architectural features like a gallery top and bottom and radiants on the door surrounding the dial. The painted dial measures 14 inches in diameter. It features Arabic hour numerals, a subsidiary seconds dial, and the Maker’s name. The movement is a double-spring thirty day time-only design and features a Graham Deadbeat escapement. The works are secured to an iron bracket mounted to the back of the case. The pendulum hangs from this bracket, and the wooden rod supports a brass-covered bob.
This clock was made circa 1909 and initially sold for $27.00. It measures approximately 30.5 inches long and 20 inches wide.
Inventory number II-42.
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. He chose to sell his 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. His clock business expanded until it became one of the “BIG Seven” in Connecticut and competed at every price point, from kitchen clocks to precision regulators. He made the clock that is used in Fireman’s Hall. He died in 1859, at which point the company was taken over by his son, Aaron, who added many styles and improvements after his father’s death. The company went out of business in the 1980s.
