Antique Clock Collecting: E. Howard & Co. Clocks

Series Summary

When talking about collecting and collectibles, grandfather clocks are inevitably mentioned, often along with some type of antique collectible mantle clocks. There are a great many antique clocks which appeal to the clock-collecting enthusiast. But what to look for when buying an antique clock? What exactly is a bell clock? Why are clocks made by E. Howard & Co. so collectible. Great questions! In order to learn how to collect antique clocks from Boston and what to look for, watch this free video from an antique clock expert. In this free video series, the clock expert discusses several antique clock companies based in Boston, such E. Howard & Co., Waltham Clock Company and the Chelsea Clock Company. Learn why collectors in the New England area value the clocks of Elmer Stennes and Foster Campos, and find out about the colorful history of these men. Discover how to track down clockmakers from the New England area. Find out how to determine the value of these clocks and what qualities make them desirable to collectors.

Video Transcript

"We just saw an E Howard number five banjo. Almost equally desirable and many of them still exist; are what's called the Howard Regulator Number Seventy or Howard Seventy. You see these often at auctions and collectors fighting over them. These were common clocks earlier on. They were often in every tea station in Boston for example. Spread around any place where you needed a durable high quality clock. These weren't inexpensive clocks, but as mentioned they weren't designed for houses. They were designed for commercial or industrial settings. This one happens to be a little rarer or a little more important, because it's the next size up from the standard one. Howard is famous for making the same style in varying sizes. That banjo we looked at, the number five banjo; that was the smallest. The made them all the way up to number one, which was much bigger and used in places where you needed to be able to see the clock from farther away. Normally the Howard Seventy was a twelve inch dial. This is a fourteen inch dial. Which could almost double the value of this, because much rarer, harder to find. We have the typical black, gold and red glasses too. This color that's sort of a brick red is famous when these glasses get broken people go to great lengths to try to recreate the color. We also see, as well, that in this case we have the existing patterning still on the pendulum bob. This is a pattern that is done into the lacquer or very faintly into the metal so it's not often that you find that pattern remaining on the pendulum bob, because it can get wiped off very easily. So, if you have a larger Howard Seventy, you have a pendulum bob that retains its patterning, if you have an original weight inside where actually the number seventy is cast into the weight you have a great collectible item. We'll talk more about what Howard made, but now you've seen probably the most popular and collectible models the number seventy and the number five banjo we saw previously."