Seth Thomas was born in Wolcott, Connecticut, in 1785. At the age of 14 he began apprenticing with Daniel Tuttle, who owned a joinery business, and worked building houses and barns.

After apprenticing for several years Seth began looking for another, greater opportunity. He found this is clock making. In 1807, he started working for clockmaker Eli Terry. He spent the next several years learning the business of making clocks while working as a carpenter. Their largest project during this apprenticeship was the production of 4,000 wooden clock movements using Eli Whitney’s method of making standardized parts. After several years of instruction he formed a clock-making partnership in Plymouth, Connecticut with Eli Terry and Silas Hoadley, a young clockmaker who also worked on the wooden movements, as Terry, Thomas & Hoadley.

In 1810, he and Silas Hoadley bought the business from Eli Terry, making tall clocks with wooden movements. In 1813, Silas bought our Seth’s interest. Seth moved to Plymouth Hollow, Connecticut, where he set up a factory to make metal-movement clocks. In 1817, he added shelf and mantel clocks. These were cased in pillar and scroll cases until 1830, when the bronze looking glass and other styles became popular. In 1842, brass movements were introduced, and first cased in the popular O.G. case (which was made until 1913). Wood movements were phased out in 1845. In 1853 Mr. Thomas incorporated the Seth Thomas Clock Company, so that the business would outlive him. Mr. Thomas died in 1859, and Plymouth Hollow was renamed Thomaston in his honor in 1865.

Though an innovator when it came to production techniques and business, Thomas was rather conservative when it came to the appearance of his clocks. So, after his death, Thomas' sons were quick to introduce new clock styles, from handsome wall clocks to regulators to spring-driven clocks to clocks with calendars.

Of the calendar clocks, the Seth Thomas antique wall clocks for kitchens were particularly popular. One early double-dial calendar clock made shortly after the founders’ death had a rosewood-veneer case that came to points at the top and bottom to earn itself the nickname of "Peanut." Walnut kitchen clocks were produced from 1884 to 1909.

One of the toughest competitors for U.S. clockmakers in the second half of the 19th century were the French, whose clocks cased in onyx and marble were all the rage. In response, U. S. manufacturers made clocks that resembled those of the French, except instead of marble, they made their cases from less expensive iron or wood.

Thomas responded to the French challenge with its own line of marble clocks (1887 to 1895) and iron clocks finished in black enamel (1892 to 1895). But the Thomas response that is best known today was its Adamantine black mantel clock, which debuted in 1892.

Adamantine was a veneer developed by the Celluloid Manufacturing Company. Thomas licensed the veneer because it could be produced in black, white, and a variety of patterns to replicate the look of wood, onyx, and, most importantly, marble. The Seth Thomas Adamantine mantel clocks were popular enough to remain in production until 1917.

Another trend from the late 19th century was the practice of naming a clock after international cities. Thomas did that, too, using names like Milan, Genoa, and Naples to evoke the style of a particular clock. Thomas also had a City Series of clocks named after U.S. cities. The Atlanta clock, for example, had a rosewood case with gilt details and a glass door that had been etched in a leaf pattern. Even Utica got its own clock. The City Series was produced for roughly 40 years.

Thomas clocks were also named after presidents (Lincoln, Garfield) and royalty (Victoria). Others were named after universities, from Cambridge to Cornell.

In the 20th century, Thomas introduced its first tambour clock in 1904. The low, wide profile of these mantel clocks made them perfect above fireplaces. Chime clocks followed in 1909, and electric clocks were added to the company’s catalog in 1928.

Of the pre-war, 1930s Thomas clocks, the Art Deco alarm clocks, wind up or electric, made of a colored plastic called Catalin are highly collectible. Unlike Bakelite, which was opaque due to its fillers of sawdust or carbon, Catalin is transparent, which made it easy to mix with dyes to produce rich colors. It could even be marbleized, which, for Thomas, recalled the company’s Adamantine clocks produced just a few decades earlier.

Many Seth Thomas clocks from 1881 to 1918 have a date code stamped in ink on the case back or bottom. Usually, the year is done in reverse, followed by a letter A—L representing the month. For example, April 1897 would appear as 7981 D.

In 1930 a holding company named General Time Instruments Corporation was formed to unite Seth Thomas Clock Company with Western Clock Company.

In 1955, a flood badly damaged the Seth Thomas factory. They phased out movement manufacturing and began importing many movements from Germany. Hermle, in the Black forest of Germany, has made many movements for Seth Thomas clocks.

In 1968, General Time was bought by Talley Industries, and in 1979 the headquarters was moved to Norcross, GA.

In June 2001 General Time announced that it was closing its entire operation. The Colibri Group acquired Seth Thomas. The NAWCC (the National Association of Watch and Clock collectors) purchased from Seth Thomas their collection of historical records, drawings, photographs, advertisements and documents.

The Colibri Group unexpectedly shut its doors in January of 2009, laying off its 280 employees. In March 2009, Alliance Time, a leading distributor of brand name and designer jewelry, watches and accessories, acquired the entire inventory of goods, intellectual property and trademarks from three top brands, Colibri, maker of popular lighters, accessories for men, jewelry, executive gifts and flasks; Seth Thomas, the oldest clock manufacturer in the United States; and Linden Clocks, a noted clock maker.

Bottom Photo:
Attribution: © 2004 Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Four-faced clock at a kiosk inside Grand Central Terminal on the east side of Manhattan, with a noticeable amount of sunlight shining through some of the windows.  The Seth Thomas Clock Company-manufactured clock at Grand Central Terminal.