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unusual case for a French clock?

novicetimekeeper

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Jul 26, 2015
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French clocks are not anything I know much about.

This clock has been in my partner's family a long time, possibly from new. The house it is in has suffered a partial collapse and will now be demolished so a major clearance is taking place of a property that was bought between the wars.

I only have the one picture, to me it looks French, I can see the gong (not in the right place) and what looks like a two vial mercury pendulum.

I assume it is a fairly late clock, perhaps around the turn of the 19th to 20thC?

Any ideas would be helpful. They are not sure whether to restore it or sell it, but I have said it won't be worth much.

IMG-20230318-WA0001.jpg
 

novicetimekeeper

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Pardon a silly question, but what is the case material? Looks like wood, but I’m not certain. OTOH, the overall style is similar to the following:

Not a silly question at all, I was told it was ebonised wood but it could just be very tarnished brass, in which case that is a dead ringer.
 

zedric

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Aug 8, 2012
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Looks like the front door frame is too thin to be wood, so I'd go with brass, and I think that Stephen has found your clock.

I think I'd call yours a dead striker rather than a dead ringer :);)but it can be brought back to life...
 

jmclaugh

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It does look like the one Steven found which is by Samuel Marti and has the Medaille D'Or awarded in 1900 but you'd need to see the back plate to confirm as others made similar clocks. If it is brass under there it will be a bit of work but should clean up nicely.
 

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