Pictures

Welch Spring & Co., Empress shelf clock, circa 1878.

This is an 8-day time and strike Empress as shown in the Welch Spring & Co. 1978 catalogue. The spring powered brass movement has the unusual looking "club foot" escapement frequently seen in Welch Spring & Co movements from this period (note the blunt escape wheel teeth). Strikes the hour on a wire gong. Clock was obtained from a friend in Feb. 2007. When received, the case was falling apart (that's why it remained in the box for the picture), most of the veneer was lose or missing, what was left of the original label was unreadable, and the movement was worn and dirty. Someone had attempted to reletter the dial, which was in very poor condition, and the hands and wire gong were missing.

The movement was cleaned and bushings installed as needed and is now in good running condition. The old finish and lose veneer was removed and some of the "harvested" veneer was used to fill in missing pieces on the front of the base. The ends of the base were given a faux wood grain finish. The upper front molding base wood was refinished without veneer. These parts could be veneered at a later date if I ever feel the need to make the clock "more original" in appearance. A reproduction dial was created based on the original and new replacement hands and a wire gong were installed. The case was refinished with shellac and waxed. It's an attractive, if not 100% original, clock. It runs well but I don't like the sound of the gong and will search for a better one.

The information on this page is believed to the writer to be correct at the date of posting but is presented with no guarantee expressed or implied. Pictures were a true representation of this clock at the time of posting but may not be current. Please contact me if you believe that any of the above information is incorrect, or if you wish to share additional information about this clock.

Unless otherwise credited, the pictures and information on this page are the property of Robert H Croswell & Greenfield Clock shop, 4180 Main Street, Trappe, MD 21673 and may not be sold or used for commercial purposes without permission. © 2016
email:  bobby@greenfieldclockshop.com