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Benjamin B. Lewis of Bristol, Connecticut.

Benjamin B. Lewis was born in 1818 and died in 1890. He is best known for designing a perpetual calendar mechanism while working as a Jeweler in Huron, Ohio. In 1859, he moved to Bristol, Connecticut to find a manufacturer of his design. The firm Burwell & Carter first manufactured the mechanism in 1859 until 1862. Lewis had applied for an patent which was granted in on February 4, 1862. He continued to improve the design and patent those improvements in 1864, 1868 and 1881. He supplied his mechanisms to L.F. & W.W. Carter in 1862 through 1868 and then to the Welch, Spring & Company from 1868 to 1884. Their clocks sold well and Lewis became quite wealthy. In 1870 he form a partnership with his son Charles S. Lewis under the firm name of B.B. Lewis & Son in Bristol. This venture did not last long.

Clocks From This Maker

Lewis Calendar No. 2 wall clock. NN-55.
This is a fine example of a Lewis Calendar No. 2. Several other firms made a very similar form, suggesting that it was popular and sold well. Competitors that made similar clocks included Welch & Spring and their parent Company, E. N. Welch, as… read more