Hello Pam,
Thank you for sending in your mantel clock to mearto.com for an appraisal. I shall try to help you with that today.
TITLE:
Walnut, dual steel spring, 30-hour or eight-day time, strike and alarm, mantel clock, “Tiber” model, made by the New Haven Clock Company, New Haven, Connecticut, circa 1885.
DESCRIPTION:
Case: 18/19” tall x 11” wide and 5” deep, a walnut carved and incised mantel clock, the pediment with three capped plinths surmounted by three carved foliate solid frets, although the center one (the largest) is separated from the case and has been stripped of its finish. In the pediment below the plinths are three applied wooden volutes. Below is an arched glazed dial door flanked by side-arms of carved leaves. The door frame has a half round molded frame with narrow stepped molding to the inside in a concentric shape. The base is wide with flared bracket feet and is incised with vines and seedpods. The reverse decorated door glass is a painted decal with red roses, green leaves and vines, and the balance in gold paint. There is a border filled with three flowered straight stems and gold den foliage above. There is a badly torn label on the pine backboard which is now illegible except for the final ‘n’ in New Haven, followed by a comma and Conn.
Dial: Two-part paper, 5.5” diameter dial with Roman hours, closed minute track, steel Spade hands (painted red) and the brass Arabic numbered (1-12) alarm setting ring in the center. The dial is unsigned.
Movement: Not shown but would be a fenestrated double brass plate movement with anchor escapement, two steel coiled springs power this clock for either 30 hours or eight days (both models were made in the Tiber case) and cause striking on a coiled wire gong (semi-destroyed but still attached to the bell like base of the gong) on the hour or hour and half hour. The Pendulum is a metal wire with a special bob patented on March 01, 1881 and seen on this model clock in their catalog of 1883 -for the first time. The invention is said to be more accurate than other bobs and that a movement of pointer of a single degree will alter the speed of the movement by one minute (faster or slower) in a full day. The pointer is regulated by the brass nut seen below the bob. The alarm is missing its spring driven movement usually located in the base of the backboard (separate from the main movement, so that the alarm is no longer functional.
Condition:
Case – The top fret has been stripped of its finish and is off the case. One of the “pinned” wooden blocks used to hold the glass in place is broken. Label is badly torn.
Dial: Flaking and has been lacquered at some point in the past, which will stop the flaking t this time but will gradually darken until the dial is almost illegible (that will take many more years).
Movement: Not seen nor evaluated but assumed original, genuine and not fully functional since the striking wire needs to be fixed or replaced and the alarm mechanism is non-functional.
Pricing:
A quarter century ago in the late 1990s, the Tiber model, in perfect original condition, bought $175 at auction. In perfect condition today the same clock would bring $60. However, this clock has many problems and its fair market value would be about $40-$45.
The last one I can find that sold was in 2010 when prices were already falling significantly. This example is stripped with flaking dial but has legible label. It sold for $69 in 2010. SEE -
https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/new-haven-clock-co-new-haven-conn-tiber-model-229-c-8bfdb2b2ff#
You might as well go ahead and make this is into a decorative clock in any way that you wish. It still would have a nice parlor appearance but updated in whatever fashion pleases you.
I hope this helps you to understand your 19th century mantel clock, currently referred to by collectors as a walnut gingerbread clock.
Enjoy the clock and it doesn’t have to work to remain a very appealing as a piece of decorative art.
My best,
David