Without trying to imply rarity somehow equates to value, this particular ogee (“if you’ve seen one ogee, you’ve seen them all”) is not at all common. My reason for stating this will be revealed below. The clock itself is identified as a Jerome & Co. of New Haven, Conn. That name has a lengthy history, and it’s not always obvious what it refers to. More often than not, clocks with Jerome & Co. and New Haven in the label were made by the New Haven Clock Co. after the bankruptcy of the Jerome Manufacturing Co. in February of 1856. However, a Jerome & Co. trade catalog from 1852 probably intended for foreign markets, along with other evidence, clearly demonstrates that clocks were being marketed under the Jerome & Co. name by Chauncey Jerome prior to the bankruptcy. Whether these clocks actually had Jerome & Co. labels or the labels of Chauncey Jerome is not easily answered. In the case of this clock, it was made before Benham (the label printer) moved from 55 Orange St. to the Glebe Building at the corner of Church and Chapel. That move occurred between the June 1855 printing of the New Haven Directory and the June 1856 printing. The existence of labels for the New Haven Clock Co., identifying them as successors to the Jerome Manufacturing Co. and printed by Benham at 55 Orange St., means that labels printed by Benham at the Glebe Building post-date Jerome’s bankruptcy. Therefore, for a Jerome & Co.-labeled clock to be the product of the Jerome Manufacturing Co. (aka Chauncey Jerome), it would have to have a Benham 55 Orange St. label. Although a leap is involved in making this statement, I believe this clock is one that was manufactured by the Jerome Manufacturing Co. shortly before the 1856 bankruptcy. My primary reason for believing this is that the label in this clock, aside from the name of the “manufacturer”, is identical to the ones used by Jerome in the waning days of the company. The ones with “successors to/Jerome Manufacturing Company”, which likely represent the first post-bankruptcy labels, required further alterations to fit the additional text in the label.
The Benham label in question, stating “BRASS CLOCKS,/MANUFACTURED BY/JEROME & CO., NEW HAVEN, CONN./WARRANTED GOOD.” Later Jerome & Co. and New Haven Clock Co. labels, including ones identifying them as successors to Jerome, dropped the “WARRANTED GOOD” line.
A closeup of what’s left of the printer’s line, showing “BENHAM, P…/55 Orange st…”
Front view of the type 1.314, 30-hr movement, with between-the-plates alarm, likely made by the New Haven Clock Co. for the Jerome Manufacturing Co.
Rear view of the type 1.314 movement.
This clock was formerly in the collection of Snowden Taylor and was purchased at an auction at the 2018 Eastern States Regional.