Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
A rare and wonderful Seth Thomas precision clock was donated to the Museum in 2021 by Richard and Mary Zipf. (For full details, see the March/April 2021 Bulletin article by John Cote.) The clock features a gravity escapement, one of only three or four known Seth Thomas precision clocks to have this remarkable mechanism.
Additional details make this clock especially significant, including a brass plaque reading, “Precision Clock, For time measuring qualities this clock has no equal,” another brass plaque above the pendulum door with an apparent dedication from long-ago owners, and a Roman numeral dial with both hour and minute hands mounted on the center arbor.
This scientific instrument has been on display in the Museum’s Precision Time gallery but was never running. A recent generous donation by NAWCC Silver Star Fellow Andrew H. Dervan has allowed work to begin to bring it back to life.
In November, 2025, Executive Director Rory McEvoy and Education Director Ken De Lucca fully dismantled and cleaned the clock, carefully conserving it with the goal of returning it to running order for public display. Once restored, it will be proudly featured in the Museum’s upcoming Time and Astronomy gallery, scheduled to be unveiled in the summer of 2027.
A rare and wonderful Seth Thomas precision clock was donated to the Museum in 2021 by Richard and Mary Zipf. (For full details, see the March/April 2021 Bulletin article by John Cote.) The clock features a gravity escapement, one of only three or four known Seth Thomas precision clocks to have this remarkable mechanism.
Additional details make this clock especially significant, including a brass plaque reading, “Precision Clock, For time measuring qualities this clock has no equal,” another brass plaque above the pendulum door with an apparent dedication from long-ago owners, and a Roman numeral dial with both hour and minute hands mounted on the center arbor.
This scientific instrument has been on display in the Museum’s Precision Time gallery but was never running. A recent generous donation by NAWCC Silver Star Fellow Andrew H. Dervan has allowed work to begin to bring it back to life.
In November, 2025, Executive Director Rory McEvoy and Education Director Ken De Lucca fully dismantled and cleaned the clock, carefully conserving it with the goal of returning it to running order for public display. Once restored, it will be proudly featured in the Museum’s upcoming Time and Astronomy gallery, scheduled to be unveiled in the summer of 2027.
