Each of us has a "first". The clock that got us started. Often there is a good story attached to it. Let's hear what got you going!

My first clock was an Ingraham kitchen clock. We were on a tent camping trip in the White and Green Mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire, in 1970. We decided to take a detour and stick our toes into Maine, just to say we were there. Just across the border was an antique shop that specialized in clocks. Ceiling to floor, wall after wall - clocks. A friend had an antique and I loved the ticking, and decided this was the place to get started. It survived a couple of weeks in a tent and it is still a favorite. Although....kitchen clocks????..... not exactly the height of fashion.

As it happens, the second most significant clock in my collection is also a kitchen. This one is a Sessions, and is significant because it holds the movement that I repaired for the Board of Horology to pass the practical part of my Horologist's Licensing exam.

Hoow about telling us about the one that got you hooked!

Chapter #157 has members bring a clock or watch related to a topic question, for each meeting. This question was the one posed for October. I thought it was a good one, and would be interesting for our chapter also.

A friend of mine and I used to travel to as many auctions as possible. He had a guy that he took a lot of glass to. One day he asked me if I would like to ride along to take a few things over to his house. Well when I walked in and saw the clocks on the wall I was hooked. He had a Gilbert #20, a Waterbury #2, a very large Self Winding Clock Co. among the others was a Seth Thomas #3. After seeing that clock I knew I was hooked. Now finding one to purchase was another thing. Of course I had to ask if that might be for sale, but I think you all know the answer I recieved. I bought a couple of Seth Thomas #2's still waiting for a #3 to be found for sale. It took 10 years before I located one for sale and it was a nice one in oak. Pictured below.

Gary

I know exactly which clock got me interested in things that tick because I still have it. I was just an annoying teenager at the time and the clock was scavenged from a hard rubbish collection. The case was shot but the movement was still intact and I saved it. I made a rough mount for it and even kept the origional name plate from the case. It just says MAUTHE in script and was pressed into the wood at the front inside the dial ring. I kept the clock in a small fish tank being the best I could do at the time. As I recall the late night chimes caused my dad some annoyance. The glass bottom on the tank made them louder.

A couple of years later I had learnt enough to make a case for it. It is not styled on anything in particular and was likely made to use whatever materials I had at the time. Sometimes I look at it and ponder doing something better with it but then it wouldn't be my first clock anymore.

From your photos...I like it..looks like a crystal regulator turned side ways. Very inventive!!

greg

Gary,
That's not a bad clock to wait for. Fabulous!! That clock would hook anyone.

Stephen, Great story. I like the case you made! As a first clock goes - priceless!!

The one that got me "hooked"...was inherated...this one has been in the family since 1874. Has all the history written on the "backboard".

greg

Greg,
I am glad to see that the clock is honored in the family. A parent of one of the children I was teaching sent a note that she heard I was into clocks and had one to sell.

It turned out to be the same model you pictured. It had been in their family for as long as anyone could remember. I tried to convince them not to sell it, but to treasure it as a family heirloom.

Nothing I could say would change their mind, so I did purchase it. I just couldn't understand why someone would give up such a nice family piece.

To them it was just a piece of furniture that didn't fit in with their decor!!

Great picture of yours. Glad to see it staying at home!!

Tom,
First, I love your clocks, second, I see what looks like a thermometer on the second clock, but what is the item on the front, left side, of the clock? I like these clocks, and any reason why they call them kitchen? Are thay all that shape or style? Very nice.

Gary,
That one would have hooked me too. Very Nice!

Stephan,
I really love your story, and hey, if you don't mind actually giving up a portion of your teen years, you could change your clock, but I bet, later you would hate yourself for being so grown up, and practical. Leave the teen in you alone, it's nice to visit yourself sometime. Your clock is FANTASTIC, and I would be so proud to own it.
I included a link to some great information and pictures of your MAUTHE clock. Interesting too!

http://www.gleuenberger.com/clocks/MautheClocks.htm

Greg,
A Beauty, and I get so excited when someone has a real family piece. I don't really know clocks that much, but this one is really nice, and the 2 dials are great.

I purchased my first clock here on the board from Scott, it's a Junghans, and I love it.
I thought it was of a style that was my favorite, but since then, I have fallen in love with so many, that I now know, that you just can not fill that hunger with any ONE clock.

I'm beginning to think that there is no home big enough to hold my passion for watches and clocks.

I also avoid looking at clock in person, other than in here, because I could get seriously hooked before my home is even built.

Naturally I want a clock that has chimes or plays a song, perks my coffee, and is so gorgeous that it takes my breathe away, but since most already do that, it makes it even more confusing to pick my next clock, so until I can narrow it down, I will just enjoy my first clock, and admire it every day.

Sheila,
I'm glad you like the clocks. They sort of grow on you. I'm not sure how they got their "kitchen" name, perhaps that is where most kept them, although I would figure on the mantle over the fireplace would be the place of choice. Their other name is "Gingerbreads", Easy to see how they got that name. Those are nicknames. I think the catalogs refer to them as mantel clocks. The upper scale versions were parlor clocks.

The Sessions clock you asked about has all the bells and whistles: calendar, thermometer and the one you were asking about - barometer.

A nice chiming clock is great to have running. You have a nice one there. (First of many!