History of the American Clock Business for the Past Sixty Years, and Life of Chauncey Jerome: Barnum's Connection with the Yankee Clock BusinessJerome, Chauncey
History
History of the American Clock Business for the Past Sixty Years, and Life of Chauncey Jerome: Barnum's Connection with the Yankee Clock Business
Jerome, Chauncey
Clock and watch making -- United States
The next clock company which I shall speak of, is that of Seth Thomas &
Co., of Plymouth Hollow, Connecticut. As I have mentioned before, the
senior Thomas is not living. The business is carried on by a company,
the members of which are all Republicans in politics and respectable
men. Fifty years ago this spring, Heman Clark built the factory which
Seth Thomas, two or three years afterwards, bought, and in which he
carried on business until his death, about two years since. It was never
Mr. Thomas' practice to get up any thing new. He never would change his
patterns or mode of manufacturing, until he was driven to it to keep his
customers. At the time when I invented the one-day brass clock in 1838,
he said much against it, that it was not half so good as a wood clock,
and that he never would take up any thing again that Jerome had adopted;
but he was compelled to, in a year or two, to keep his customers. He
sent his foreman over to Bristol, where I was then carrying on business,
to get patterns of movements and cases and take all the advantage he
could of my experience, labors, and improvements which I had been
studying upon so long. I allowed my foreman to spend more than two days
with his, giving him all the knowledge and insight he could of the
business, knowing what his object was. A friend asked me why I was doing
this, and said that if I should send my man to Thomas' factory he would
be kicked out immediately. I told him I knew that perfectly well, but
that if Mr. Thomas set out to get into the business, he certainly would
find out, and that the course I was taking was wisest and more friendly.
I have thought since how quickly such kind treatment as I showed towards
his man can be forgotten; yes; this company have all forgotten the
service that I rendered them twenty years ago, and as I have said
before, would probably have been making the old wood clock to this day,
had it not been for other parties. There always has been a great deal of
jealousy among the Yankee clock-makers, and they all seemed to hate the
one who took the lead. The next establishment of which I shall speak, is
that of William L. Gilbert, of Winsted, Connecticut. He is said to be
miserly in feeling, and is quite rich; not very enterprising, but has
made a great deal of money by availing himself of the improvements of
others.
The next one in the business to whom I shall allude is E.N. Welch, of
Bristol, Connecticut. He is about fifty years of age, and has been in
many kinds of business. He was deeply interested in the failure of J.C.
Brown a few years ago, and succeeded him in the clock business. He is a
leading man in the Baptist church, and has a great tact for making
money; but he says that all he wants of money is to do good with it. He
is a Democrat in politics, and never wants an office from his party.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account