Delaney Antique Clocks

Delaney Antique Clocks The largest selection of antique clocks for sale in the United States.
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The U. S. Lighthouse Service is known to have purchased numerous clocks from the Howard & Davis Clock Company, the E. Ho...
06/17/2026

The U. S. Lighthouse Service is known to have purchased numerous clocks from the Howard & Davis Clock Company, the E. Howard & Company, the Chelsea Clock Company, and the Seth Thomas Clock Company. These clocks were put into service in their buildings and used by the lighthouse keepers. A small number of the clocks that the service purchased are identifiable by a stamping inside the case, or occasionally, the lower tablet or dials are lettered with their logo at the factory. Identifying a clock as having served adds to the interest and collectibility of the example.

The United States Light House Establishment (USLHE) was created and operated under the Department of the Treasury in 1789. Shortly after, all U. S. lighthouse ownership was transferred to the government. Individual states operated the twelve lighthouses that existed at the time. These were taken over, and the maintenance cost was now the Treasury's responsibility.

The case is mounted on a walnut-wood shelf bracket. On this bracket, the clock measures almost 7.5 inches tall, 9.5 inches wide, and 4 inches deep. The brass base case is finished in nickel and boasts a historic patina. It looks lightly used, a sign of its careful maintenance.

Chelsea's movements are of very good quality and, as a result, have built a solid reputation for reliability. The spring-driven marine movements power the mechanism for eight days between windings. The movement design is robust. It is constructed with 7 jewels, a Breguet-style hairspring, a compensating balance, an engraved bridge, cut and hardened steel pinions, and ground and polished pivots. The plates are finished in nickel. The back plate is die-stamped with company information and serial number 186027. This serial number confirms this example was made in 1928.

Chelsea clocks with lighthouse references are a rare and sought-after find for collectors of Light House memorabilia. Chelsea collectors, a passionate and dedicated community, eagerly seek purpose-built marine clock examples like this one.

Inventory number 226070.

We recently delivered and set up this cute grandmother clock. Its new owner is a passionate antique collector whose prim...
06/16/2026

We recently delivered and set up this cute grandmother clock. Its new owner is a passionate antique collector whose primary focus is on vintage radios and record players. He was taken aback by the complexity of the inlay work exhibited in this case form.

If you love antique clocks, take a look at what we have on our website at www.delaneyantiqueclocks.com. You can also sign up for our bi-weekly newsletter while you’re there.

This decorative clock pays homage to the colonial form from the 1800s. Its design includes several sophisticated feature...
06/15/2026

This decorative clock pays homage to the colonial form from the 1800s. Its design includes several sophisticated features found in cases made 175 years earlier.

This charming example stands on four applied ogee bracket feet. They are well-formed and mounted under a single stepped base molding. The base panel has a crotch mahogany panel with a grain pattern that radiates upward. The lower waist molding is nicely shaped and transitions from the base to the waist. The waist is pinched and has a rectangular access door with a molded edge that provides access to the case's interior. The upper waist molding flares outward to support the bonnet. Fully turned, free-standing bonnet columns or colonnades are positioned on either side of the door and visually support the cornice molding. Above this is an applied swan's neck crest supported by three capped finial plinths. Each plinth supports a brass finial. The bonnet door has an arched opening fitted with glass. It opens to access the painted dial, which is not signed.

This arched dial is colorfully painted in the manner of Spencer Nolen. Nolen was an important Boston dial painter who worked in the first half of the 19th century. He became the dominant supplier of painted dials to the clock trade. The four spandrel areas feature red and gold urns framed in a lacy, raised gesso pattern highlighted in gilt paint. The time ring has Roman-style hour numerals along a segmented closed minute ring. Both hands are traditional in form. A larger urn decorates the lunette, surrounded by additional lacy designs and green drapes or swags. The dial mounts directly to the movement's front plate via three dial feet.

The weight-driven works are made of brass. Four brass pillars support two rectangular brass plates. Hardened steel shafts support the steel pinions, brass gearing, and recoil escapement. The pendulum hangs from the back of the movement. When fully wound, the movement runs for eight days.

This charming case measures 51 inches tall to the top of the center finial. The bonnet molding is 13.5 inches wide and 7 inches deep.

I estimate this clock was made circa 1960.

Inventory number 226049.

The Tamalpais Ferry was originally owned by the Sausalito Land & Ferry Company and was sold to the North Pacific Coast R...
06/10/2026

The Tamalpais Ferry was originally owned by the Sausalito Land & Ferry Company and was sold to the North Pacific Coast Railroad in May of 1882. The ferry was originally named the Petaluma and was renamed the Tamalpais after refitting in 1883. She served the community until 1894, when a second Tamalpais was built to replace her in 1901 by the Union Iron Works for the North Shore Railroad Co. This side wheeler passenger steamer was the first Marin County ferry to burn oil. Its route connected the cities of Sausalito, San Quentin, and San Francisco. She was dismantled for scrap in 1947. It is somewhat unusual to know the history of a clock. This example is a conversation starter.

This marine clock with a brass movement is die-stamped with the Maker's name and the serial number 277 on the movement's backplate. This suggests a manufacture date of about 1900. This example is in good vintage condition. Waltham clocks are of excellent quality.

The 8.5-inch-diameter dial features a nickel finish that contrasts with the black graphics. Above the center arbor is a subsidiary seconds display. Also engraved into the dial are the names, “UNION IRON WKS. / SAN FRANCISCO” and “STARR BRASS MFG CO. / BOSTON, MASS.”

The Union Iron Works was located in San Francisco, California. It was, for a time, the premier producer of mining, railroad, agricultural, and locomotive machinery in California. When it entered the shipbuilding business and relocated to Potrero Point, where its shipyards still exist, making the site on the north side of the Potrero the longest-running privately owned shipyard in the United States. This clock was provided to them by the Starr Brass MFG Co of Boston. In the late-19th and early-20th centuries, they were a leading maker of heavy-duty industrial and marine instruments. They specialized in precision pressure gauges, steam engine indicators, factory whistles, safety valves, and high-end marine clocks. The movements of the marine clocks were sourced from companies including E. Howard, Chelsea, and Seth Thomas, in this case, Waltham.

Inventory number 226064.

This attractive clock was produced by the prolific Quaker clockmaker John Bailey II [1751-1823] of Hanover, Massachusett...
06/08/2026

This attractive clock was produced by the prolific Quaker clockmaker John Bailey II [1751-1823] of Hanover, Massachusetts. He belonged to a renowned family of skilled, innovative clockmakers credited with training most clockmakers in Southeastern Massachusetts. High-quality construction and superb wood selections are used throughout the case's design. The clock is fitted with a Boston-made dial decorated with patriotic shields.

The formal case was made in Southeastern Massachusetts. It features delicately scrolling fretwork set between three reeded chimneys, each with period brass finials. The finials have a fluted ball below a spire with wafer tiers. This fretwork rests on an arched molding above a glazed tombstone and mahogany cross-banded dial door. The door is flanked by reeded columns with fluted brass capitals and bases. The sides of the clock hood have tombstone-form glazed windows.

The dial door opens to a beautifully painted dial of Boston manufacture in pristine original condition. During this period, Boston was a center for dial manufacturing. Boston dials are known for their high quality and regional style and were used by clockmakers throughout the United States. This dial features a painted moon-phase disk in the lunette, decorated with hand-painted scenes. At the base of the lunette are two hemispheres, each decorated with terrestrial map transfers. The clock face is framed with four painted corner spandrels shaped as patriotic American shields. This dial is also signed by the clockmaker at this location. The signature has worn away but can be read under good light. It is signed “John Bailey / HANOVER, Mass.” The word “Mass” indicates Bailey produced this clock for retail in the Mid-Atlantic and Southern markets. John Bailey had active trade with Virginia and North Carolina during the first quarter of the 19th century. He frequently traveled to North Carolina and set up temporary shops to repair and sell clocks. The center arbor is fitted with the original, distinctive cut steel hands.

Inventory number XXSL-36.

We recently delivered and set up this circa 1815 Vermont-made tall clock in Southern PA. Its new owner is a passionate a...
06/06/2026

We recently delivered and set up this circa 1815 Vermont-made tall clock in Southern PA. Its new owner is a passionate antique collector whose primary focus is on artwork. She was taken aback by the complexity og the inlay work exhibited in this case form.

If you love antique clocks, take a look at what we have on our website at www.delaneyantiqueclocks.com. You can also sign up for our bi-weekly newsletter while you’re there.

We recently delivered this New England tall clock to a customer’s office in southern Pennsylvania. The collector, deeply...
06/06/2026

We recently delivered this New England tall clock to a customer’s office in southern Pennsylvania. The collector, deeply passionate about clocks and history in general, was thrilled to have the clock installed. The tour of office employees started before I left. Here is a good example of antiques successfully integrated into modern architecture.

If you love antique clocks, take a look at what we have on our website at www.delaneyantiqueclocks.com. You can also sign up for our bi-weekly newsletter while you’re there.

06/05/2026

Ticking away.

Do you love antique clocks? Why not visit our website and sign up for our bi-weekly newsletters at https://www.delaneyantiqueclocks.com.
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This monumental and rare classical wall clock was made in Vienna circa 1810 by Johann Vellauer, one of the distinguished...
06/03/2026

This monumental and rare classical wall clock was made in Vienna circa 1810 by Johann Vellauer, one of the distinguished makers in the imperial capital during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Johann Vellauer the younger (1748–1819) produced clocks of remarkable sophistication, and this example ranks among the finest surviving Viennese giltwood craftsmanship.

The towering ebony case is 45 inches long and lavishly adorned with carved ornaments finished in gold leaf. At the base is an elaborately carved and gilded drop-style ornament. Above this, on the front of the case's bottom, is an acanthus carving and frame. The window to view the pendulum's brass bob is framed by acanthus foliage and clusters of berries. A pair of carved urns flanks this opening. Above is the dial and dial bezel, framed with carved cascading bellflowers. Above these are carved compotes overflowing with foliage and fruit. Above the dial is a carved wreath and ribbon detail. The cornice features board molding with dentil details. A majestic spread-winged eagle crowns the composition, clutching foliage and berries in its powerful talons, a dramatic symbol of imperial authority and neoclassical grandeur.

The convex enamel dial, signed “Johann Vellauer a Wienne,” is set within a deeply carved giltwood bezel and protected by convex glass. The dial displays Roman numerals for the hours, with Arabic numerals for the five-minute markers along the outer segmented minute track. Elegantly pierced and engraved brass hands indicate both the time and date.

Particularly unusual is the clock’s “blind-man” striking system. The mechanism announces the quarters progressively: one strike for the first quarter, two for the second, and three for the third. At the hour, the clock strikes four times on one bell to mark the completion of the fourth quarter, then strikes the hour count on a second bell with a distinctly different tone. This sophisticated arrangement creates an especially rich and layered audio presentation befitting the clock's imposing visual presence.

Height 45" Width 23" Depth 6.75".

Inventory number 225154.

Re-visiting an old friend. This B.D. The Bingham wall regulator is featured in a contemporary home in Worcester, MA. Bin...
06/01/2026

Re-visiting an old friend. This B.D. The Bingham wall regulator is featured in a contemporary home in Worcester, MA. Bingham regulators are of the finest quality. This one, made in Nashua, NH, is 4 feet 2 inches long and dates to the 1830s.

Love antique clocks? Visit our website and subscribe to our bi-weekly newsletters: https://www.delaneyantiqueclocks.com.

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West Townsend, MA
01474

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