Bonus Features

Toronto -- Clock Collection

Valerie: Why do you have so many clocks?

Collector: Well, a man can have… not enough clocks. Got to keep going, and when they’re as beautiful and as lucky as I’ve been to find these, you can’t stop.

Valerie: I think people will be a bit surprised to know how many beautiful old Canadian clocks.

Collector: Well, that’s what I wanted to bring today. These clocks mostly are late eighteenth, beginning nineteenth century, from Quebec. Canada had a very elegant, rich cultural life then, it wasn’t plain pine and very ordinary rustic life.

Valerie: How did you get this clock?

Collector: Well, a clock maker friend of mine mentioned to me that he had repaired a Canadian clock of some elegance some years before, knowing that I was a collector. I asked him who had it and where was it and he couldn’t remember. Went to his records, checked everywhere. Phoned me a few days later, said “Terribly sorry, I don’t know who it was except it came from the Town of Collingwood and I delivered the clock, picked it up and delivered it back for repair, and it was on a street that began with the name of a tree. Well, that was enough for me and over the next few weekends I went up and down Ash, Maple, Pine, whatever. Finally, I think it was on Maple, I found this. And the woman sold it to me, I loved it and now it’s my treasure.

Valerie: Now it’s yours. And what about the lovely long case clock?

Collector: I’m glad you said long case as opposed to grandfather, long case, very good. This is as elegant and as clean a piece as you could ever find. The Americans made them in a similar style. This was made in Montreal 1810 or so. It’s cherry with lovely inlay probably by a cabinet maker by the name of Sancerre who curiously probably made that sideboard which is behind us. It probably came from the same shop. Very unusual.

Valerie: And what about these – this is a lovely little carriage clock.

Collector: Well, let’s save that one, that little story for the last. This is yet another Canadian clock by the name of Rumsden. I think this is the only one known of his bracket clock around. I know there’s a long case.

Valerie: But very valuable.

Collector: Well, who wants to count? (laughs) So it’s very special Canadian – not as elegant as that one, but still very lovely. Also in my discoveries I am of the opinion that these cases did not come from England, the movements did but the cases were actually made here in Canada. That one that we first saw is maple and there is some native wood in this.

Valerie: And a tiny little carriage clock?

Collector: And this little guy is a Tiffany clock.

Valerie: Because you couldn’t resist.

Collector: I could not. I was only asked to bring three, I brought four. This is a little Tiffany clock retailed by them about 1880. And what makes it special is these clocks all have a history. And this one is particularly interesting in that some woman bought this clock to travel with and every trip that she went on she wrote down her date and destination.

Valerie: Starting in 1886.

Collector: She went to…

Valerie: She went to France.

Collector: France and ….. in 1904 and California and Japan.

Valerie: Oh, isn’t it beautiful.

Collector: I thought it was rather sweet of her to record her travels.

Valerie: Lovely collection. Thank you.

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