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June
16th 2008
PITTSFIELD — They came to
buy time.
More than 100 collectors and dealers
bid on 525 antique clocks yesterday
afternoon at Fontaine's Auction
Gallery on West Housatonic Street
during Berkshire County's first
clock auction.
Hundreds more across the United
States and around the world
participated by bidding at home with
the Internet sites eBay Live and
Proxibid.
Auctioneer John Fontaine said the
six-hour auction was expected to
fetch close to $1 million in total
sales.
The clocks ranged from the late
1700s to the 1950s, from a cell
phone-size nightstand clock to an
8-foot-tall grandfather clock, and
from $25 to $170,000.
The latter — an 1870, 94-inch-tall
E. Howard & Co. #61 Astronomical —
was purchased by a man from Houston,
who wished to remain anonymous.
"It's a rare one," said the man, who
flew up just for the auction.
The bidding lasted only four
minutes, and once it topped
$100,000, it was between a phone
bidder and the man from Texas, who
said he had an idea who his
competition was. "Clock collectors
are a small, friendly fraternity, so
I'm sure I know the guy."
He said he has been collecting
clocks for more than 30 years. This
one, which is not the most expensive
he has ever purchased, is destined
for a nook in his home.
Fontaine said he came up with the
idea to host a clock auction four
months ago, when he purchased
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a large clock collection from a
Scranton, Pa., estate.
Many of those auctioned yesterday
were on consignment, and Fontaine
charged a 20 percent commission.
"A lot of these people here are
either collectors or dealers," he
said. "It's a hobby."
Fontaine's tongue-twisting cadence
competed with the intermittent
chimes from grandfather clocks lined
across the walls of the auction
house.
And some of the clocks didn't seem
like clocks at all. One, estimated
at $15,000, looked more like an
elaborate Rube Goldberg machine,
with a series of balls dropping out
of buckets and sliding down
elevators, turning the hands of the
clock.
Another piece that sold for $32,500
was a bronze locomotive with a small
clock on the cab. And several clocks
were sculpted figurines that just
happened to have timepieces.
Fontaine said clocks don't just tell
time, they are antiques, and they
can dress up a living room like a
piece of furniture.
Paul MacDonnell, 62, drove from
Carlisle yesterday to catch the
auction. He owns dozens of clocks
and was on the hunt for a Vienna
regulator — an ornate,
wall-mounted-style of clock — but
left before it came up for bid.
"This is a popular hobby," he said.
"We like to repair them and watch
them. Clock collectors are their own
subculture."
Preview Sample
Lots
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Clock Terminology (Glossary) |
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Invitation to Consign
to Fontaine's
Antique Auction Gallery,
Important Fall Clock Auction
We
are seeking quality antique clock
consignments for this 300 lot
auction, one piece to an entire
collection.
Either way, Fontaine's
has the service & expertise to
assist you.
We can provide free
estimates & arrange for pick-up &
delivery worldwide.
Call Fontaine's
Auction Gallery at 413-448-8922 for
more information about consigning
your Antique Clocks.
We also buy clocks
outright, one piece to a complete
collection.
You can send photos to us by
visiting our web site or e-mail your
photos to
.
Click here to
upload your photos now.
 Consignments receive national
exposure with catalogue mailings to
our 30 year customer database of
over 15,000 qualified buyers and
online through;
www.worthpoint.com
www.artfact.com
www.ebay-liveauctions.com
www.auctionzip.com
www.globalauctionguide.com
NAWCC National Association of Watch
and Clock Collectors
Plus dozens of National Print
Publications!
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Preview Sample Of
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