About this Collection

Like I imagine it is with many collectors, I didn't start out with a desire to own "a collection." My first mechanical clocks came from my family. I helped my father-in-law build this Emperor Grandfather clock in the 1980s, and we became its stewards when he passed away. I also received this Seth Thomas Travel Alarm from my mother.

I knew very little about clocks at that time. My first experience with how clocks work came when I bought this Kundo 400 Day Anniversary clock at a garage sale in Guthriesville, PA on May 23, 2015. I asked the owner if it was working and they said, "No." I figured my $5 investment would result in either a working clock or at least an education. I ended up getting both, but not without some disappointment. After taking apart and cleaning the clock, it stopped overnight. I remember felling as if it had literally died and thinking what good is a dead clock other than a paper weight even if it was pretty. I then learned about setting a clock's beat (which requires an evenly spaced tic - toc) and solved that problem. But then, even when regulated as slow as possible, it still ran fast. I found that the suspension spring that holds the pendulum was over twisted making it stiff, with a higher natural frequency. Replacing it with a new spring solved that problem. I was hooked.

Again, I imagine that like most starting collectors who finally realize they have a collection brewing, any mechanical clock was a good addition. It was enjoyable bringing clocks "back to life," whether that meant fixing the movement or restoring the case, or both. My best loved clocks tend to the be ones I invested the most in - time, not money. Eventually my interests started to focus on specific eras and styles. I truly appreciate the designs and quality of pre early 20th century clocks, which means anything up to about the 1920s - 1930s. After that, cost cutting and mass production (unskilled generally unskilled labor instead of true "craftsman") took their toll on quality.

My favorite styles complement my carving hobby and include figural clocks and cuckoo clocks, but gingerbread clocks which are equally ornate seem to lack "character." I also like styles that make a statement about their presence, like tall case clocks. Other elements of style or engineering are also appealing. These include Belgium black marble and mission style clocks, and American and Black Forest wooden works clocks. I've amassed quite a few tambour and 400 day anniversary clocks even if they violate my preferred era, mainly because they are inexpensive. The bigger the dial on a tambour, the better. I enjoy the reflective flash of anniversary clocks' torsional pendulums. They seem to make the room come alive. While I don't own many, precision regulators are engineering marvels of their time, equivalent to rocket ships and supercomputers of today. While mine are mechanically sound they lack many of the elaborate compensating features of the truly high-end versions.

The categorization of my clocks is simply personal preference. I imagine other people might put certain clocks in different categories. My general pattern is to organize by physical structure, such as drop dial clocks, figural clocks or grandfather clocks. However, other traits, such as artistic style like mission clocks, or region of origin for black forest clocks, or typical locations found, such as desk, wall or mantel may override the physical structure. In many cases, a clock may fall into more than one category. Again, personal preference dictates which category a clock is placed.