Antique Ansonia Clock Co. Oak Cased Chiming Mantle Clock c.1890 (Fully Working)

Pricing & History

Sold for
Start Free Trial or Sign In to see what it's worth.
Sold Date
Source eBay UK

Antique Ansonia Clock Co. Oak Cased Mantle Clock c.1890 (Fully Working) Antique oak cased mantle clock manufactured by the Ansonia Clock Co. of New York, U.S.A., probably dating to around 1890.The clock has a brass face decorated with four brass Art Nouveau style spandrels and an enamelled chapter ring with Roman numerals.Chimes on the hour and half hour.Stands approximately 13" (33 cm) tall and is approximately 9 1/2 " (24 cm) wide.ANSONIA CLOCK CO. NEW YORK U.S.A. engraved to the movement.The enamel of the chapter ring is chipped, there are spots of tarnish on the brass plate and a few of the painted Roman numerals need re-touching, but otherwise its is in good condition for its age and is fully working. International bidders: Please contact us for shipping costs prior to bidding. Ansonia Clocks were made by a clock manufacturing business which started in Ansonia, Connecticut, in 1851 and which moved to Brooklyn, New York, in 1878. An enormously successful business, it turned out thousands of clocks in a large number of styles.In 1838, brass movements had mainly replaced wooden and cast iron movements in most clocks due to the volumes of supply of rolled brass. In 1844, metal dealer Anson Greene Phelps formed the Ansonia Brass company in Connecticut, to supply the expanding clock business - nine companies were producing clocks in Connecticut.In 1850 the Ansonia Clock Company was formed as a subsidiary of the Ansonia Brass Company by Phelps and two Bristol, Connecticut, clockmakers, Theodore Terry and Franklin C. Andrews. Terry & Andrews were the largest clock manufacturers in Bristol, with more than 50 employees using 58 tons of brass in the production of about 25,000 clocks in 1849. Phelps decided to get into the clockmaking business to expand the market for his brass, while Terry and Andrews got access to better quality brass at better prices. They had resultantly sold 50% of their business to Phelps, and moved the business to Ansonia.In 1877 the clock company purchased a factory in New York, and moved most of its production there after being spun off from the brass company. Henry J. Davies of Brooklyn, himself a clockmaker, inventor and case designer, joined the newly reconstituted company as one of its founders. As President, he is thought to be largely responsible for the figurine clocks, swing clocks and other unusual and desirable novelties for which the Ansonia firm became known.Thomas Edison visited the factory in 1878 to experiment combining clocks with his newly developed phonograph. But the experiments proved unviable.By 1879, a second factory was opened in Brooklyn, New York and by June 1880 employed 360 workers, while the Connecticut factory continued producing clocks as well with a work force of 100 men and 25 women. Hence, clocks marked "Connecticut" were generally produced before 1879, while those marked "New York" were all produced after 1880After the New York factory burnt down in 1880 - the loss was reported to be $750,000 with only $395,000 insured. The company rebuilt the factory on the same site, and reopened the expanded factory in 1881, with capacity to exceed that of the Connecticut factory - which closed completely in 1883. By 1886, the company had sales offices in New York, Chicago and London, and more than 225 different clock models were being manufactured. The prosperous and debt free Ansonia Clock Company reported having an inventory worth $600,000 and receivables valued at $250,000. In 1904, Ansonia added non-jeweled watches to their line, and produced an estimated 10 million of these by 1929In 1899, Phelps grandson William Earle Dodge Stokes commissioned architect Duboy to build the "greatest and grandest hotel in Manhattan, New York" New York's first air conditioned building, the Ansonia Hotel still stands at 2107 Broadway, albeit as a condominium apartment block.In early 1914, just before World War I, Ansonia were producing 440 different models. However, the novelty clock became sub... read more

Items in the Price Guide are obtained exclusively from licensors and partners solely for our members’ research needs.

Flag item for content or copyright

If this item contains incorrect or inappropriate information please contact us here to flag it for review.

If you are the originator/copyright holder of this photo/item and would prefer it be excluded from our community, contact us here for removal.