Ansonia ID Please

[Adam K]

I am assuming 1881 based on back plate weights over 30lbs. All cast Iron . Dial needs attention. IS paper over top I am assuming possible brass under,

Never had a plate so decorative on an ansonia before not that I have a lot.

Cheers

A

 

[Steven Thornberry]

Underneath all that gold "radiator" paint is a clock called the Messina. Tran Duy Ly's book on Ansonia clocks shows it from the 1886 catalogue. It might have been offered a few years either side. In any event, all the June 14, 1881, patent date indicates is that the clock could be no earlier than that date. If interested, the following link will take you to the patent document. It is for a pendulum regulator and was granted to H.J. Davies and P.J. Nutting.

Patent Images (uspto.gov)

I can't say about the dial. FWIW, the 1886 catalogue illustration shows completely different dial. But, if someone was interested enough to change the original black enamel color of the clock to gold, it would not surprise me that the dial also has been monkeyed with.

 

[Jeremy Woodoff]

That looks to me like a rubber dial. For a while Ansonia owned a rubber company in Queens, NY. They had a few case models made of this material, but rubber dials were more common. The inset circles arond the numbers are gilt; the rest of the dial is black or dark brown. If the sunk portion of the dial behind the escapement is rubber, then the rest will be too.

 

[Steven Thornberry]

That looks to me like a rubber dial. For a while Ansonia owned a rubber company in Queens, NY. They had a few case models made of this material, but rubber dials were more common. The inset circles arond the numbers are gilt; the rest of the dial is black or dark brown. If the sunk portion of the dial behind the escapement is rubber, then the rest will be too.

In fact, Ansonia Clock Co’s superintendent, the same H.J Davies mentioned above, was also President of the Ansonia Rubber Co. Davies held a number of patents, the last of which was for a rubber dial.

 

[T.Cu]

In fact, Ansonia Clock Co’s superintendent, the same H.J Davies mentioned above, was also President of the Ansonia Rubber Co. Davies held a number of patents, the last of which was for a rubber dial.

Wow! Really! And does the material gutta percha fit into this discussion? I thought the "rubber" dials were actually gutta percha, from something I read somewhere.

 

[Jeremy Woodoff]

No, not gutta percha, but hard rubber.

 

[T.Cu]

No, not gutta percha, but hard rubber.

Interesting.

 

[Steven Thornberry]

Yes, hard rubber, as Jeremy correctly pointed out. Below is a link to the patent document, which frequently mentions hard rubber.

US291989