1: AN ORIGINAL C. 1816 LEMUEL CURTIS GIRANDOLE BANJO CLOCK

A Federal painted and parcel gilt Lemuel Curtis Patent timepiece 'Girandole' wall clock with eglomise glass panels, made by Lemuel Curtis (1790-1857), the movement with touch mark for L. Curtis, made by Lemuel Curtis in Concord, Ma. c.1816-1822 or possibly in Burlington Vermont, c. 1823-1828, with replacements and restorations.
The clock case surmounted by a gilded wooden eagle mounted on a classical Ionic pedestal above the circular head of the case which contains the white painted iron dial with Arabic hour chapter, closed minute track to the outside and gold painted ring to the inside of the hours, cutouts for attachment to the case head are seen at the 23 and 52 minutes markers, there are two steel barbed arrow hands: a triple pierced hour hand and a quadruple pierced minute hand, partial script signature reads, "Warranted by L. Curtis", enclosed within the glazed brass or bronze bezel with attached 24 gilt brass or bronze spherules and decorative knob, The throat section has a trapezoidal gilded frame containing a convex reverse painting on glass of leaves and fruit above a golden eagle with an American shield and a printed banner reading, 'L. Curtis', two cast brass side-arms with round decorated medallions applied to the four ends (two on each side) and embedded brass diamonds between the thin double side-rails. The lower portion of the case is circular with a wooden gilded frame having 30 attached gilt wooden spherules. There is a gold leaf acanthus lower bracket below the circular reverse painted flat glass glazed door with an image of Mars riding in his chariot, the sun's-rays outlining the aperture to view the pendulum bob. The sides of the case are heavily alligatored and nearly black with the original stenciling visible only in raking light or under protected areas of the finial and bracket. The inside of the throat frame has a scribed Roman 'V', as does the backboard of the case. The movement is a solid brass rectangular plate movement attached with four pillars, pinned at the back plate, and is signed L. Curtis. Measurements approximately 46.5 x 15 inches.
Provenance: Previously the collection of legendary coin and gun collector Grant Pierce who resided on Alumni Avenue in Providence, Rhode Island directly across the street from Moses Brown School; then to his son Henry Clay Pierce (1918-2015) Mission Hills, KS to the current Pierce family member and consignor today. An interior inscription names Frank Homer Burr as a previous owner as well. Birth records list an individual named Frank Homer Burr born in Boston July 31, 1855.
Measures approximately 45 x 14 inches.
Good running and time keeping condition at the time of inspection. We cannot guarantee the running condition of antique timepieces once removed from the premises. Replacements, minor repairs, minor scattered chips throughout the gilded plastered surfaces, darkened, alligatored 'grungy' case sides, dull and darkened gilding throughout, old dowel and crystallized glue repair to the right scroll of the lower bracket, now loose, lower door hangs loose on its hinge and often will not properly hit the catch and stay closed, flaking paint from the eglomise glass, there is no evidence of repaint or touch-up to the dial, very good overall.
$25,000 - $35,000