Silas Burnham Terry. "Horologist." Terry's Ville, Connecticut. Mantel clock. UU-35.
This rare 30-hour brass geared shelf clock was made by Silas B. Terry in Terryville, Connecticut. The case form is similar to a standard OG clock except that it is built on a smaller scale, measuring 24.25 inches tall, and that the OG moldings are substituted with bevels. This case is veneered in mahogany, and the central door is trimmed with a molded edge. This door is fitted with a very fine painted tablet or eglomise' design. This tablet features a traditional S. B. Terry view of several large buildings set in the countryside. Large trees with "splotchy leaves" are positioned in the foreground, enhancing the overall view's depth. A heart-shaped pendulum opening is centered in the design. The backboard is covered in paper. The wooden dial is also covered in paper. The clockmaker's Company signs the paper dial. It reads, "Silas B. Terry. / Terry's Ville, Conn't." Please note the wonderfully decorated spandrels.
The brass movement is unusual and considered rare. It is weight-driven, retaining its original cast iron weights and winds from above the center arbor. The strike train is actuated from a countwheel, which uses pins for the hour positions. This clock strikes the hours on a wire gong mounted inside the case.
This outstanding example measures approximately 24.25 inches tall, 13.25 inches wide, and is only 3.25 inches deep.
This clock was made circa 1840.
This clock is pictured in American Shelf and Wall Clocks, page 156.
Inventory number UU-35.
Silas B. Terry was born on February 1, 1807 (during Eli's involvement with the porter contract) and died of a heart attack on May 20, 1876. He was the youngest of eight children born to Eli & Eunice (Warner) Terry. Silas worked in various clockmaking enterprises. Unlike his father, he focused on the more expensive brass-geared clocks and was in the process of producing them as early as December of 1833. He was an inventive person and was constantly testing new designs. One of the most notable was the application of the balance wheel to clock movements. Silas was granted a patent for this on August 9, 1845. Silas was involved with several clockmaking firms, which included the S. B. Terry & Company (1852-1853) and Terryville MFG., Co. (1853-1854). In 1854, Terry went bankrupt and took a job as a general manager of the William L. Gilbert & Company of Winsted, Connecticut. In 1861, he took a job as superintendent of the Waterbury Clock Company. In 1867, he formed the Terry Clock Company in Waterbury with his sons. Silas' early clocks were well made and often had interesting movements. The evidence of his work supports the suggestion that he loved to tinker.
