Anglo-American clocks
I refer to your reader's question on how many clocks Chauncey Jerome manufactured in England.
Here is my brief answer. ‘The’ Chauncey Jerome (b1793, d1868) sent his young son, Chauncey Jerome Junior (b1821, d1853) to Liverpool with an experienced peddler, E Peck, in 1842 and the venture was a success selling Jerome’s American clocks to the British. A British firm, Jerome & Co, was established by 1847 with Chauncey Jerome Senior as owner to provide structure for this British operation. In 1855 Chauncey Jerome went bankrupt, but he sold Jerome & Co to family members just before the bankruptcy. The New Haven Clock Co bought the defunct Jerome Manufacturing Co and supplied American clocks to England under both the New Haven and Jerome & Co labels. In 1904 the New Haven Clock Co purchased the British firm, now Jerome & Co Ltd, but interestingly, the personnel associated with Jerome & Co in England continued to use Jerome & Co on ‘Anglo-American’ clocks and in the 1920s produced complete clocks with very English cases, your reader’s clock. How many of these British Jerome clocks were made? Not very many. Only a very small fraction of what Chauncey Jerome’s firms made in America.
The question was very timely. The NAWCC is currently doing research on the subject, especially the British Jerome movements. They need photographs of these rare movements. If any readers of Clocks can photograph such movements please send them to Dr Snowden Taylor, Research Committee Chairman, NAWCC, 514 Poplar St, Columbia, PA 17512, USA.
Tom Spittler, USA
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