Charles Kirk Organ Clock, ca. 1837

$32,000

 Charles Kirk wooden pipe organ clock, ca. 1837.  One of three known organ pipe clocks made by Kirk; one is in the American Clock & Watch Museum in Bristol, CT, and the other is in private hands. The 41-inch Empire case is veneered in flame mahogany with two full columns and carved Corinthian capitals, with an old, clean finish. It is 24 inches wide and 10 inches deep at the cornice; note that the clock weighs 80 lb.  The upper door has a working lock and key, while the lower door is missing the locking mechanism.  The mirror in the frieze is modern, the dial glass is original, the lower glass and tablet are original and in outstanding condition.  The decorative wooden pipes in the center section are reproductions based on the clock in the ACW Museum; they are not functional, as the actual whistle pipes are behind the movement. The iron dial holds the original paint with some touch-up and cleaning, and some of the paint is wrinkled; I see no evidence of it not being original to this case.  Note the harps in the spandrels.  The signature is original; the ornate brass hands are as found on one other example and are similar to the hands on the Bristol museum clock.  The brass 8-day, time-and-strike movement is unsigned, and is driven by two springs and mounted on an iron backplate, invented by Kirk.  It is running without issue, but the rack and snail strike mechanism is miscounting.  It strikes on a large brass bell below the movement.  The organ pipe chain fusee movement winds on the right side with a large crank, driven by a large spring in the winding barrel.  Does it play? Yes, a bit.  The time movement triggers the barrel organ once a day, set at noon; it plays seven tunes, one for each day of the week.  I could not get it to play more than four or five notes before it stopped, perhaps due to stiff bellows; the bellows are located at the base of the clock and have been refurbished, but are a bit stiff from lack of use.  The air is forced up to the top of the clock through a brass tube into the air box, where the musical barrel at the top turns to lift wires that extend to flaps over each of the 16 square wooden whistles (note that two of the whistle pipes are in front of the back row, on the left). As the drum turns, pins on the wooden barrel activate the lift wires to allow air to flow into the whistles.  This clock likely will require some attention to get it to play correctly.   

This clock sold at RO Schmitt’s in 2014 for approximately $17,000 with buyer's premium; at that time, it was missing the organ pipe façade on the front of the clock.  It was subsequently sold at Delaney Antique Clocks with the restored façade you see here.  A very similar example sold at Cottone’s in 2023 for $28,000 ($35,000 with the 25% buyer’s premium). 

 There is no buyer’s premium and no sales tax on this sale (unless you live in Kentucky), and the price includes free blanket-wrap delivery to any location in the lower 48 states. 

Free blanket-wrap delivery to the contiguous US.