Antique clocks from the 19th and early 20th centuries were made in many forms, from mantel clocks to tall case “grandfather” clocks to banjo wall clocks. Their cases were also made in many materials, from porcelain to wood to iron. Connecticut hosted most of the clockmaker companies during that era, yet relatively few founded in the mid-19th century would survive into the 20th.

Among the most prolific and successful of these companies was Ansonia Clock Co., founded in 1851 in Ansonia, CT. Most of Ansonia’s production dates, from the late 1880s to the early 1920s, were when the company operated in New York. Undeterred by the fiery destruction of its factory in 1880, which was only partially insured, Ansonia rebuilt in the very same place in that very year. By 1914, the company was producing 440 different clock models!

Despite its earlier successes, the Ansonia company was faced with fierce competition from many other U.S. clock companies, not to mention myriad overseas producers. Ansonia’s effort to survive by retaining its cheaper, older production pricing wasn’t sustainable, resulting in bankruptcy by 1929. The name itself would continue under a variety of corporate successor companies into the mid 1960s, finally disappearing altogether in 2006.

The Chelsea Clock Co. was founded in 1897. Chelsea was sold to a number of different companies during the late 20th century but is still in business today.

Perhaps the oldest and best-known name among American clockmakers is Seth Thomas, established in 1813. It received a trademark for its name with the U.S. Patent Office in 1926. Today, manufacture continues under the Seth Thomas name as owned by CST Enterprises.

There were nearly 30 American clockmakers during the heyday of production in the 19th and early 20th centuries (“Famous Names in American Clock Companies,” www.discoverclocks.com/clock_companies).

Even Older (and Sometimes Odder) American Clocks

The largest clocks, tall-case or “grandfather clocks,” can be taller than a human adult. An 8-foot Chippendale clock made in Philadelphia by Jacob Godschalk between 1665 and 1675 sold at a Christie’s auction for $800,000 on an estimated auction house value of $150,000-$250,000 (https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-4645816). This doesn’t mean, however, that every grandfather clock is a high-roller. Much depends on factors of age, maker, condition, adornments, and the all-important provenance (documentation of where the clock came from). Another Godschalk grandfather clock with much less elaborate case carving sold at auction for $6,000 on an estimate of $2,000-$3,000 (www.fontainesauction.com/auction-lot/jacob-godshalk-philadelphia-grandfather-clock_6C43282BBA).

A grandfather clock isn’t for every home or office décor, however. This helps dampen the prices even on those in good condition if they aren’t the work of a famous maker.

Perhaps the best-known oddity among clocks is the cuckoo clock, which projects the little bird from inside the case whenever the clock strikes. The woodwork on these is characteristically elaborate. These were made by companies in both the U.S. and Europe. They’re not for everyone’s taste, but the best of them can command a few hundred dollars.

Banjo clocks are known by their shape and, like the cuckoo clock, are designed to be wall mounted. A 19th century Simon Willard banjo clock c. 1805 was appraised at $50,000-$60,000 on an Antiques Roadshow airing in 2012. The clock had an original crank, old finish and patina, and original reverse-painted tablets with brass sidearms. The original eagle finial had been replaced, however (www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/season/17/corpus-christi-tx/appraisals/simon-willard-banjo-clock-ca-1805–201205A22/). The best and oldest banjo clocks available on the general market can sell for a few thousand dollars.

I’ve been a member of the Fenton Art Glass Collectors of America, founded in 1976, for several years. Unfortunately, I joined not long after Fenton itself ceased making glass in 2011. When the factory was in full swing, it was a big part of many club members’ lives; they got to go on tours and see how the glass was made, to find unusual pieces in the gift shop attached to the factory, and to attend many special sales events held on site. Today, the only way we can purchase much of that special glass is through auctions.

Fenton Art Glass is not some collecting fad, here today and gone tomorrow. On the contrary, there is a resurgence of interest in this glass, including among younger collectors who were just tykes — or even just a spark in their parents’ eyes! — when the factory closed. There’s something for every glass collector in what Fenton made, from the antiques made in the 1910s to the items made right up to the factory’s closing.

In 1990, there was a rift in the Fenton collecting community when the National Fenton Glass Society (NFGS) split off from the Fenton Art Glass Society of America (FAGCA). The majority of members in the two groups are today in a cordial relationship with one another, and many members belong to both clubs. Each holds its own annual convention, and since they occur back-to-back on the calendar, many conventioneers stay to attend both.

Start of a Glass Menagerie

By the time I attended my first FAGCA convention in 2013, the Fenton Gift Shop (now relocated and dealing in Mosser Glass made from Fenton moulds) was still open at the factory and still finding Fenton glass in forgotten storage corners of the huge factory. I bought as much of it as I could afford, and in those final years the gift shop was still open at that factory location, I also purchased several clay models of Fenton animals that never had the chance to go into production.

I started collecting Fenton with the idea of focusing just on the glass “critters,” and even ended up writing a book about them: Fenton Art Glass Beasts, Birds, and Butterflies (currently out of print but due out at a future date in an expanded edition published by the Museum of American Glass in West Virginia). When I began collecting the animals, I could buy most of them in the $25-$35 range. It’s not unusual, though, for the cost to go into three figures, especially for the larger animals such as the Alley Cats (from a mould acquired from US Glass Company in Tiffin, OH) and the Happy Cats and Happy Kitties made as club glass for FAGCA.

When my parents passed, my sisters and I inherited our shares of their vast Fenton collection (Luckily, we all liked different glass treatments!). That’s how I got interested in collecting Fenton Art Glass more generally, everything from vases to baskets and pitchers. I’m sure many readers will be able to relate to this expanded appetite in what they collect!

Depression glass is one example of a collector category that, despite its historic denigration by many in the antiques trade, has staying power with collectors even though it was cheaply made and wasn’t considered worth much at the time of its manufacture. It must have been better made than intended, though, as much of it has survived long enough to have approached the classic definition of an antique (i.e., at least 100 years old). Entire sets of this glass (produced during the Great Depression, 1929-1939, hence the name “Depression”) are available today in various colors and patterns through such sources as auctions and antique malls. Individual pieces available on the secondary market can help a collector build or fill out a set.

Some patterns are rarer than others, though, and large sets in any pattern aren’t as easy to find as they were a few years ago. Some collectors may want to collect just a piece or place setting of multiple patterns or colors rather than trying to assemble an entire set. Imagine the striking impact of a table with a pattern in a different color of Depression glass set at each place!

I have two sets of Depression glass, American Sweetheart and Petalware, made in the 1930s in the milky white Monax color. They were given to me by my Depression glass collector mom well before she died. I prefer these two patterns because their white color shows up well on any print tablecloth of whatever season. Both sets had been assembled piece by piece whenever my parents found cups or plates at reasonable prices on the secondary market. For my parents, giving me these sets had a double positive effect: they got to experience my obvious pleasure in them and made more room for their own several other antique and not-quite-antique collections!

A Brief History of Depression Glass

Because of the time period in which this tableware was produced, an inexpensive cost to consumers at retail was tantamount. Much of Depression glass was actually given away – entire sets as premiums in sale of larger items such as appliances and others just piece by piece in oatmeal or other kitchen product boxes. According to an article in the online shop Vip Art Fair (www.vipartfair.com/most-valuable-depression-glass-patterns), American Sweetheart was an exception to this giveaway distribution as every piece in that pattern was sold.

Cheaply acquired meant one of two ultimate fates for this glass: retention for passing down in families or consignment to the trash heap. Collectors of this glass shudder to think of the vast number of pieces that ended up shattered in dumps and landfills.
It’s interesting to note that we don’t see many sets of glass tableware produced today, when most of this market is made in china, other ceramics, or plastic. In part, this is a function of relative durability of those materials – making the survival of Depression glass to the present day all that much more impressive.