The Old Clock - 1927 Seth Thomas

This is the 1927 Seth Thomas S 86 mantle clock which Sue picked up a few weeks ago at a yard sale. She paid 50 cents for it. One main spring is over wound; or sprung; and the pendulum disc is missing. The two items will cost about $150 to repair/replace. However, there is the remote possibility that it will need a complete overhaul, which would bring the cost to $400. That probably won’t happen; as in “I’m not willing to spend that much.”

No matter, the clock is a Westminster type; which means it strikes on the quarter hour; or every 15 minutes. Twice at 15 minutes past; 4 times at half past; and 6 times at a quarter to the hour. On the hour it strikes the appropriate amount of times for the time indicated. It’s a wonderfully soothing sound.

Each of the people I called about repairing the clock mentioned that it may “not be worth fixing”. The funny thing is that they each then offered to “take it off my hands” for a small amount of cash. No way. This is a keeper.

My great Aunt Katherine had several of these clocks; only older; in her brownstone in Park Slope when I was growing up. I took 2 of them home when she passed away in 1965. My father refinished one and we both tinkered with the “works.” We actually had that clock running for many years. Decades later, after it had stopped working, I foolishly sold it. Not so with this one.

Time has a funny way of restoring to you all the things which you have lost. And when you can recover something which was once so dear to you, it becomes twice as dear for the time lost. So it is with this clock. This clock will never be sold; we will be spending the rest of our respective time together.