A very desirable WT C40B.

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Gardiner Houlgate Lot 1070 is a C40B WT on sale at their live auction 21/22nd February 2019 at Corsham, Wilts. Near Chippenham and only ten miles from Georgian Bath.

Just one item, I believe, from the late Arthur Mitchell's extensive collection. I once had the unique pleasure of visiting his home. So that he could examine my recently acquired "False Pediment" Synchronome with his expert eye. That must have been over 30 years ago now but his collection was already truly remarkable. He was the author of several small books on master clocks.

 The Arthur Mitchell Collection | Gardiner Houlgate | The Bath Auction Rooms - The Specialist Auctioneers

I remember that Mr Mitchell once complained that one could no longer source master clocks from demolition workers. Perhaps for the price of a pint and a quick twist of the builder's shovel to fetch it down from the wall. The humour was not lost on me but Arthur was certainly collecting some lovely clocks long before the Internet [and later YouTube]  made them far more popular [and valuable.] Arthur must have been there quite literally "on the ground floor" as Britain's industrial heritage was demolished to make way for more traffic jams.

Arthur Mitchell was a quietly spoken gentleman and always generous with his accumulated knowledge. We exchanged correspondence and stacks of photocopies, books and even clocks for years afterwards. Even when I moved abroad we kept in touch. This was, of course, long before the Internet allowed instant messaging, with images, as we know it today.

 Gents Pulsynetic waiting train electric turret clock movement, 21" wide, 16" high, with pendulum

Note the matching "shoulders" of the sturdy mainframe of this more heavily built and much more powerful movement than the smaller C40A. It is surprisingly compact even compared with the smallest WT. Being only 4" wider but not much taller. A universal "turret clock" movement. All thanks to the genius of Gent's designers. The weight is an unknown but the cast mainframe certainly does look much sturdier than the C40A.

The large wormwheel, almost hidden in this view, is designed to drive and control the hands of up to four large dials. The hefty pendulum bob looks much larger and heavier than the smaller and far more common C40A.

The suggested sale price is about 1/10 of the likely, winning bid, perhaps much more. This leaves only a fortnight from now to seek a bank loan. Don't forget to include the buyer's premium!😉

The black paint on the detail is quite unusual. Support for the bevel gears, for one dial vertically above the movement, looks completely original and is seen in other C40B WTs. There may well have been further dials leading off a crown/bevel wheel cluster mounted well above the movement. Allowing the WT to remain lower down and therefore, more accessible. This is all pure speculation but was common practice with weight driven, turret clock movements.

There may have been another dial, driven off to the left, directly from the wormwheel shaft. The lower pendulum rod is masking the view of what might well be a black finished, expansion link. There is no time setting dial, nor the small setting crank, but otherwise this WT seems remarkably complete when seen from this angle.

The new owner will have to factor in considerable and skilled restoration to tidy up the rust without causing serious damage through ignorance. Or lack of skill during disassembly. If you really think the answer is a can of WD40 then you probably shouldn't bid. I just wish I still lived just down the road. I'd love to see this fine WT in real life and photograph it for posterity. Hopefully before it disappears forever into another "black hole" private collection! Until, hopefully, it is released to an astonished public on the demise of the collector.

This C40B WT sold for £1300 + buyers premium, taxes, costs, etc.. I thought it would make at least £3000. So didn't bother to bid. Congratulations to the lucky new owner and good luck with the restoration.

Click on any image for an enlargement.

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