Ansonia Triumph - Manufacture Date?

[WRabbit]

My focus the last few decades has been on clocks of European origin. However, I occasionally make an exception.

Last week I bought an Ansonia Triumph from a 94 year old woman in a local suburb. The condition of the case was so good I questioned it's authenticity. She said she owned the clock "since before the war", didn't know the maker, and insisted I take her vial of special clock oil to keep it running (it wasn't).

I discovered later she dipped the key into the oil (or whatever it is) before winding.

Needless to say, the movement had more dried, crusty oil on it than grandpa's Hoyt Clagwell tractor. Oil had dripped from the winding arbors onto the lower parts of the movement, the coil gong and alarm bell. Some of this crusted oil took the ultrasonic along with a Dremel brush to remove. Some of the staining remained. The good part is the coated, crusted parts looked well preserved.
During service I discovered a few broken lantern pinions. This was after using a dental pick to remove the grunge between and over them.

After cleaning it up, the clock turned out to be pretty nice. Apparently Ansonia made this model for many years. Can anyone provide a date estimate for when it was made? My guess is 1920s due to the oak and case condition. I know most of the early models were dark wood.

A few pictures:

The clock as found



Her special vial of oil



I assume the front glass is a replacement, although there is no evidence the original door trim has been removed. In addition, this clear glass is wavy. Comments?



The movement is in good shape. The time spring looks to be a replacement (T2 lantern pinion damage). Can this be dated or were all their movements the same?



Metal ornamentation appears to have an unusual coating. Paint??





A little oil sludge and a few broken pinions.




I'm pleased with how it turned out.



Comments appreciated.

Jim

 

[Rockin Ronnie]

Great looking clock! Those trundles look bad though.
Ron

 

[RAK]

See WRabbit... the magic oil worked! The clock looks like it's in showroom condition (now). Great job!

 

[Raymond Rice]

Its unusual to find one with the case in that condition -- the lady probably dusted and polished it every week. Great looking clock --congratulations.
Ray

 

[Steven Thornberry]

Tran Duy Ly's book on Ansonia clocks (arlingtonbooks.com) shows a catalogue illustration of the Triumph from 1880. The description says it came in black walnut or oak. The best I can say is that this one was made no earlier than the June 13, 1882, patent date on the movement. Several American clock companies used this case; They are shown in Tran's books generally from the 1880's and 1890's, though New Haven continued to offer it as late as 1911, and Waterbury as late as 1912.

I don't know whether Ansonia would have offered it in the 1920's, but tend to doubt it. They were suffering financially in the 1920's and had dropped a number of clocks from their line. They eventually sold out to Russia's Amtorg Trading Company about 1929.