Smith, Tuttle and Blakeslee. Owego, Tioga County, New York.

QQ-57 Smith, Tuttle and Blakeslee. Owego, Tioga County, New York.

This is a very good example of a colorful short case transitional shelf clock with pasted label by Smith, Tuttle and Blakeslee of Owego, Tioga County, New York.

This clock has a traditional thirty hour time & strike wooden geared movement. The origin is Ephraim Downs of Bristol, Connecticut. It is recorded that Downs sold this firm some 1004 movements in 1831 through 1832. It is weight driven and strikes each hour on a cast iron bell. This bell is mounted to the backboard inside the case. The Retailer’s label can also be found pasted onto the backboard inside the case. The label is in good overall condition. It does have some small areas of loss in the weight channels and some minor staining in the center section.

The wooden dial is nicely painted and is in excellent original condition. The spandrel areas are decorated with a colorful geometric fans. Thick gesso work that is highlighted with gold paint adds a third dimension to the design. Large Arabic numerals are used on the time track to indicate the hours. The closed minute ring and decorative inner ring are also decorated with gold paint.

The case is veneered in mahogany. The half columns that flank the sides of the case are smoothly turned and decorated with their original stencil designs. The splat, located at the top of the case is also stenciled. This design is in excellent original condition. The door is dived into two panels. The upper is fitted with clear glass in order to protect and view the dial. The lower panel retains it’s original mirror.

This clock stands approximately 27 inches tall and was made circa 1831.