Vigo County Historical Society

Museum acquires Victorian clock

Resting on a round mahogany table in the center of the parlor is one of the most recent gifts to the museum. A regal Victorian clock adds its charm and grace to the room.

This beautiful timepiece is 24 inches tall. On a steel pedestal stands the pot metal figurine of Diana (or Artemis), known in Greek mythology as the lady of wild things, chief hunter for the gods. In her right hand, she holds a slain game bird. Her left arm is raised with the hand extended toward the bracket to which the clock words are attached.

The clock itself is an 1882 Ansonia "tin can" with swinging arm. Surrounding the can are decorative elements of brass. A filigree bow reaches across the top while this same design connects the circular can to the pendulum. The face is a replacement dial. The logo at the base of the face is a scripted "S." This is an aftermarket trademark put on by the manufacturer of the dial. The clock is in good working order.

This stately piece came to the historical museum as a bequest from the estate of Beatrice Sayers. It originally came into the family of her husband, a Terre Haute physician, in the 1880s when it was presented as a wedding gift to the parents of his first wife. It remained in the Sayers family as a sentimental and historical object.

Those same characteristics make it a valued part of the museum’s collection of Victorians.