Introduction

    This is a Newburyport shelf clock c. 1810 I recently completed. It is a copy of the one shown on page 2270-71 of volume 8 of American Antiques from the Israel Sack Collection, which was also part of the historic 1929 Girl Scout Loan. As is my standard practice I made all of the inlays, I also made the hands. The original does not have, or did not have a bracket, so I took some liberties with the design for it. The piece was finished by coating it with a water and lime mixture, followed by Trans Tint dyes in Danish Oil and shellac.

    I used a photo in the book Treasures of The State, to get the proportions right. This photo is of a nearly identical clock, and it was taken from straight on, while the photo in the Sack book was taken at a slight angle, which makes it a little more difficult to get accurate proportions. Even with the straight on view, I think I made the bottom rail (below the door) about 1/8” to wide. The movement is a spring driven time strike one from S. LaRose. I had the face painted by an artist named Chad Mitchell, who does many clock dials. I made the face from a piece of sheet steel, and then scanned the face a printed it out full size so the painter could easily make an accurate copy. I took the bracket design from two at Winterthur, and combined them. I have attached a photo showing the inlays I made for around the door.