Seth Thomas Arch Top, Club Foot, or even called an Eyebrow mantel clock. 226038.
This is the Seth Thomas Arch Top clock, also known as the Club Foot or Eyebrow model. It has a distinctive look and is desirable to many collectors today. This model was made around 1880.
The case is veneered in figured walnut, selected for its rich grain. Applying veneer to curved surfaces can be challenging. Many examples have damaged veneers. This case is in good stable condition. Its modern finish is clean and enhances the wood's rich chocolate-brown tones. The front of the case serves as a door. It locks with the same key used to wind the mechanism.
The dial is painted on tin, with Roman numerals marking the hours along a closed minute ring. The dial plate behind the hour ring is slightly convex. The hour and minute hands are original. The minute hand ends with an “S” and the hour hand with a “T” for Seth Thomas.
The eight-day movement behind the dial is brass. It is a time-and-strike design powered by coil springs. It also includes a Geneva Stop Winding mechanism, a countwheel striking arrangement, and a coil wire gong. This movement has proven reliable.
The clockmaker’s original label is attached to the backboard inside the case. It has minor losses in some areas.
The case measures 15.5 inches tall, 10.5 inches wide, and 4.75 inches deep.
Inventory number 226038.
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.
