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Title: Sotheby's Masterpieces From The Time Museum: Part Four Volume III Clocks, Watches & Horological Curiosities

Auction held in: New York

Sale Date: 10/14 - 15/04

No. of Lots: 345

No. of Pages: 248

Condition:  Excellent

Please Note: In a Beautiful Oversized Catalog 

Sotheby's three-day sale of Masterpieces from the Time Museum, Part IV, concluded today, bringing an astounding total of $18,209,250, more than one and a half times over than its pre-sale estimate of $11.2 million, the second highest single-owner total for clocks and watches. Collectors from all over the world gathered for the chance to acquire the more than 1,250 important watches, clocks, chronometers, wristwatches, scientific instruments and horological curiosities from the Time Museum, the finest collection of time-finding and time-keeping devices in the world. The collection was assembled by Seth Atwood, a businessman from Rockford, Illinois, over a period of thirty years, and filled Sotheby's entire 10th floor gallery and three volumes of catalogues. Combined with the three previous offerings from the Time Museum over the past five years, this fourth and final sale brings the grand total to $58,593,845, the world record for any single-owner total for any horological collection.

Daryn Schnipper, Director of Sotheby's Worldwide Watches and Clocks department, said: "We are absolutely thrilled with the success of this sale, which brought $18,209,250. The sale represents a one-time opportunity that may never be seen again in our lifetime, with one-of-a-kind objects appealing to a broad spectrum of horological collectors; over 73% of the lots sold above their high estimates. We saw wide-ranging, international buyers that included private collectors, dealers and museums. An exciting highlight of the sale was the success of the important group of American watches in Session V, a testament to the discerning eye of those who assembled the Time Museum's collection. "

Among the most sought after pieces in the sale was John and James Harrison's Precision Regulator, circa 1725, which sold for $1,576,000 (est. $500,000/1 million) and was associated with the "Longitude Prize," a legendary competition among clock and instrument makers in the 18th Century to determine longitude at sea. The Regulator is probably the earliest precision regulator produced by the Harrison brothers and was intended to be a prototype for testing inventions designed to overcome friction, varying atmospheric conditions and other problems affecting the accuracy of mechanical clocks.

The record for a marine chronometer was set by Thomas Mudge's famous Marine Timekeeper, Known As "Mudge Green", which sold for $1,240,000 (est. $1.5/2.5 million). In the 1770's, each contestant pursuing the second half of the Longitude Prize of £10,000 was required to produce two timekeepers to qualify. The Mudge Green is one of a pair, and the other, known as "Mudge Blue," is now in the Mathematisch-Physikalischer Salon in Dresden. The two timekeepers were made identical in order to comply with the parameters of the contest. They were dyed blue and green to enable their maker to determine if variations in their rates were caused externally or internally.

Competition was stiff for the Full Size Working Replica of John Harrison's First Sea-Clock, Harrison's No. 1 ('H1'), English, 1984, which brought feverish bidding and fetched $904,000, over nine times its high estimate (est. $70/100,000) and established a record for a replica. 'H1' was the first device John Harrison developed to solve the problem of finding accurate time at sea, known as the "quest for longitude". Leonard Salzer, a toolmaker and a highly gifted practical engineer, visited Greenwich, South-East London, and saw the Harrison sea-clocks for the first time and was so fascinated by 'H1' that he endeavored to make a copy of it, which Seth Atwood learned of and commissioned a second copy of the original in 1984, which is considered to be an even more accurate example.

Another impressive highlight was a Gilt-Brass and Silver Quarter Striking Automaton Elephant Clock, German, Probably Augsburg, circa 1630, which fetched $512,000, far over its high estimate of $200,000. The front opens to reveal an automaton scene depicting a central male figure bound to a tree trunk while a lion, a tiger and leopard move around him while the hour strike is sounding.

Also notable was an Astronomical and World Time Clock made by Christian Gebhard, an Astronomy and Mathematics professor in Germany in 1895, who worked on constructing the clock for thirty years. This massive clock, measuring ten feet high by ten feet wide, and made of 15,000 parts, brought $142,400 (est. $100/200,000). A unique feature is a striking apparatus which features a different performance of the automata for each quarter of the hour, an elaborate procession of the twelve Disciples at noon, and a trumpeter who appears at midnight on New Year's Eve.

Another magnificent highlight was an Iron Movement Standing Clock, which fetched $316,000 (est. $100/200,000). This unusually large standing clock (yaguradokei) reportedly presented by the tenth Shogun, Ieharu Tokugawa, as a gift to his relative Munechika Tokugawa, the ninth governor of Owari-Han (Nagoya). The lacquered pyramid stand is decorated on the back with the design of three-petalled paulownia blossom which is associated with the Tokugawa family.

The section of pocketwatches performed extremely well, highlighted by an Extraordinary Small Gold Ring Watch with Alarm, Breguet, No. 180, circa 1835, formerly belonging to Prince Demidoff, which sold for $260,000 (est. $40/50,000).

Also remarkable was a Battleship Automaton Timepiece, French, circa 1895, which sold for $90,000 (est. $15/20,000). The timepiece's hull is realistically modeled with gun boats, anchors and lifeboat carriers, and the deck is mounted with gun turrets and the housing surmounted with rigging and flags. A record for an electric clock was brought by the Synchonome Co. Ltd., A Shortt Free Pendulum Electric Astronomical Regulator, No. 6, English, circa 1924 at $220,800 (est. $60/95,000). Credit: Sotheby's Press.

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