Seth Thomas Regulator No. 2 in rosewood with the commemoratiive bob, made circa 1879. 226100.
The catalog numbering system for Seth Thomas Regulators 1 and 2 can be confusing. This colorful example is a Regulator Number 2 made circa 1879.
This Seth Thomas wall clock is cataloged as the Regulator No. 2. Many competing firms made this practical form, but none were more successful than Seth Thomas. Of the variations offered, this version is one of the more complex, highly finished, and attractive examples.
This model features rosewood veneers. Rosewood is a tropical wood prized for its distinctive grain pattern. Sharp black streaks pass through a reddish-brown background. The case has been carefully refinished, revealing its noteworthy grain. The round wooden bezel door locks with a key and is fitted with glass. It opens to access the painted dial, which measures 12 inches in diameter and is original. The closed minute ring frames the Roman-style hour numerals and subsidiary seconds display. Open moon hands show the time. The case section between the bezel and lower door is made of three pieces of rosewood. The lower door is also locked. The quarter-round molding framing the decorative glass panel is finished in gilt. The painted tablet is original and decorated from the back in black and gold. The design includes a central clear area to view the motion of the special 4.5-inch-diameter brass-faced pendulum bob and gilded wooden rod. At the bottom of the case is a bracket that steps back toward the wall.
The pendulum on this example is special. The front surface is embossed. The wording reads, “SETH THOMAS / PLYMOUTH – HOLLOW. CT.” An engraved floral garland frames the decoration. In the bob's center is a view of a New England common. Pictured are various buildings, including a meeting house, a central water fountain, trees, and even a deer.
Open the lower door, and the pendulum and weight board are in full view. The weight board retains its original blue manufacturer's label. Incredibly, this remains in excellent original condition. Below this is a paper beat scale.
The time-only weight-driven movement is brass and designed to run eight days on a full wind. It features rectangular plates, steel pinions, brass gearing, a deadbeat escapement, and maintaining power. It is mounted to a wooden seatboard and held to the back of the case with wooden tabs. The cast-iron weight descends in the middle of the case behind the partition.
This clock measured 34 inches long and was made circa 1879.
Inventory Number 226100.
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.
