Antique Walter Durfee Signed Carved Mahogany Bombe 8-Chime Tall Case Clock

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Antique Walter Durfee Signed Carved Mahogany Bombe 8-Chime Tall Case Clock

About the Item

Antique tall case mahogany Walter Durfee grandfather clock features bonnet with broken arch pediment decorated having ribbon and inverted bellflowers with scrolled broken arch having rosettes and flanking central urn surmounting waist with flared door having reeded and rosette framing with sunburst corbels and raised on carved bombe form base with carved foliate decoration, central ribbon, bellflower garland and seated on claw and ball feet; floral engraved face with Arabic numerals, lunar calendar, painted rolling moon and actuating mechanism, subsidiary seconds dial and both a silent or strike and Westminster chimes or bow bells selectors, and signed by the retailer J. A. Smitly Saratoga; works as photographed and include eight nickel plated tubular chimes and three brass plated weights; signed on works, plate and chimes;eight day wind and working, circa 1865. Measures - 105" x 25" W x 17" D Additional information: Walter Durfee began selling antique furniture in Providence in 1877. From the beginning he specialized in tallcase clocks, taking full advantage of the interest revived in them by Longfellow's poem, "The Old Clock on the Stairs." Beginning in 1880, a year before he formed "Durfee & Enches" with Providence antique collector Charles Pendleton, the pair traveled to England in search of antiques. Through this and subsequent trips of the early 1880s, Durfee came into contact with manufacturers of clocks and cases who would later ship the parts to the United States, which he would reassemble in Providence. When he added a bell chime, then recently patented in England , he enhanced the demand for hall clocks in America to such an extent that he became known as "the father of the modern grandfather clock." In 1884, John Harrington, of Coventry , Warwick County , England patented the first clock-chime of tubular bells. It was an immediate success, winning gold medals at Paris in 1885 and at Liverpool in 1886. Within a few years, they were being used in England in both hall clocks and bell towers. J.J. Elliot, from Clerkenwell, a clock maker till his death in 1904, was based in London and employed Harris & Harrington (H & H) as its sales representatives. In 1886, Durfee met Harrington while on a trip to England . They saw the possibility of using Harrington's tubes as clock bells, with Elliot's clock movements in longcase clocks. In 1887, Harrington's American patent #372,849 for a clock chime Apparatus was assigned to Walter H. Durfee. With the protection of this patent, Durfee was the monopolist of American tallcase clocks with tubular chimes, which he assembled in high-quality cases. Interestingly and uniquely, Durfee used a special etched brass hinge on his tallcase clocks that has become a noted symbol. It is also interesting to note that Durfee used at least three different finial styles, one carved with a "flame", another turned with flutes, and the third in the more traditional brass style. In the column to the right you can see two of the same model (Pattern 18) with different finials (and column capitals). In circa 1894, Durfee stopped importing Harrington's tubular tower bells and began manufacturing his own. James E. Treat of Methuen Organ Company in Boston had assigned his American patent for a tubular bell to United States Tubular Bell Company of which Walter H. Durfee was the president. In 1900, Allen W. Harrington, a U.S. citizen residing in New York, obtained American patent #656,603 and assigned it to Harris & Harrington's American office in the same city. The Harrington firm had bypassed Durfee to sell directly into the American market. (Antique Clocks Guy).

Creator:
Walter Durfee (Clockmaker)
Dimensions:
Height: 105 in (266.7 cm)Width: 25 in (63.5 cm)Depth: 17 in (43.18 cm)
Materials and Techniques:
Brass,Glass,Mahogany,Metal,Nickel,Carved,Hand-Painted
Place of Origin:
United States
Period:
20th Century
Date of Manufacture:
1920
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use. Overall very good to excellent condition and working.
Seller Location:
Big Flats, NY
Reference Number:
Seller: 656811stDibs: LU2396314232992