On today's date in 1886, this "regulator" clock fell over, thanks to an earthquake that rocked Charleston, South Carolina. It was returned to the E. Howard and Company of Boston for quick repairs.
Most 19th century American clocks were cheaply made for domestic use. But a few firms made finely finished precision clocks for applications where accuracy was vital: determining the time of scientific observations, for example, or regulating other clocks and watches. E. Howard and Company made these special clocks.
This one was advertised as an "astronomical clock" recommended for observatories, watchmakers' shops, and railroad depots. Such a clock is today called a regulator, a particularly accurate timepiece designed exclusively for keeping time. Nonessential complications like striking mechanisms, calendar work, and moon dials are omitted. The case is likewise unadorned.
This particular clock has a 16-inch silvered dial that indicates hours, minutes, and seconds separately. The steel pendulum rod carries two glass jars filled with mercury. The expansion and contraction of the mercury compensates for changes in the rod's length as the room temperature rises and falls.
About 1855, E. Howard and Company sold this clock to James Allan and Company, a Charleston, South Carolina, jewelry firm whose name is engraved on the dial. The regulator stood in the same Allan family store from 1865 until it came to the Smithsonian in 1977, except for the brief period when it was returned for repairs.
Explore the other clocks in our collection: http://s.si.edu/2aN2rmK
Most 19th century American clocks were cheaply made for domestic use. But a few firms made finely finished precision clocks for applications where accuracy was vital: determining the time of scientific observations, for example, or regulating other clocks and watches. E. Howard and Company made these special clocks.
This one was advertised as an "astronomical clock" recommended for observatories, watchmakers' shops, and railroad depots. Such a clock is today called a regulator, a particularly accurate timepiece designed exclusively for keeping time. Nonessential complications like striking mechanisms, calendar work, and moon dials are omitted. The case is likewise unadorned.
This particular clock has a 16-inch silvered dial that indicates hours, minutes, and seconds separately. The steel pendulum rod carries two glass jars filled with mercury. The expansion and contraction of the mercury compensates for changes in the rod's length as the room temperature rises and falls.
About 1855, E. Howard and Company sold this clock to James Allan and Company, a Charleston, South Carolina, jewelry firm whose name is engraved on the dial. The regulator stood in the same Allan family store from 1865 until it came to the Smithsonian in 1977, except for the brief period when it was returned for repairs.
Explore the other clocks in our collection: http://s.si.edu/2aN2rmK
