CALENDAR CLOCKS, by Tran Duy Ly Published 1993 by Arlington Book Company, Inc., 2706 Elsmore Street, Fairfax, VA. 22031-1409 - Phone 703-280-2005 8 1/2 x 11 - 360 pages - 858 B & W illustrations in high gloss enamel text. Smyth sewn Hardbound $39.50

Once again, Tran Duy Ly helps us to enter the world of Antique Clocks as he unravels the mystery and mistique of the Calendar Clocks.

His latest "smash hit" "Calendar Clocks" show just how rollers and pointers move at the appointed hour in flawless fashion after 100 or more years.

Just how this minor miracle is daily accomplished is explained in clinical detail using ample photographs and drawings of cases, movements, wheels, rollers, hands, dials, labels and how to do it instructions. These heavily detailed drawings can be used for intricate repairs and the fabrication and placement of missing parts.

This 360 page volume covers 51 manufacturers and inventors listed including: Ansonia, Atkins, Boardman, Elias Burwell, Carter, Franklin & Morse, Feishtinger, Gale, Gilbert, Hubbell, Ingraham, Ithaca, Jerome and New Haven, Kroeber, B. B. Lewis, Macomb, Maranville, Parker, Prentiss, Seem, Sessions, Seth Thomas, Terry, Waterbury and Welch.

There are 41 pages devoted to the Ithaca Calendar Clock Company including a history of the company, directions for starting Ithaca spring clocks, directions for starting Ithaca weight clocks, and directions for correcting the Ithaca calendar if it should get displaced. This valuable information will be useful for many repairs and adjustments. Detailed photographs and drawings cover all aspects of Ithaca Calendar Clocks from the simple Farmer model to the rare Skeleton. There are detailed presentations on the 3 1/2 Parlor, the Melrose, and several other Ithaca models. Rare custom design cases and the Cornell floor calendar clock are shown for the first time in any book.

Tran Duy Ly has made every effort to make this book serve as an accurate reference source for beginning through advanced collectors. He along with a panel of 54 leading national experts have carefully inspected every aspect of this text to insure the highest level of accuracy in pricing and authenticity of the clocks pictured in this book. Background information has been provided by Chris Bailey, a noted authority on American clock history and former curator of the American Clock and Watch Museum at Bristol, Connecticut, and James Baxter of Beech Grove, Indiana who has one of the most complete and exquisite calendar clock collections in America. It would be a thrill for all of us to be able to view his collection in person. Jim feels that this book is a "gotta have" for anyone who enjoys collecting and restoring clocks.

There is also detailed information on important topics such as dials, labels, hands, reverse glass paintings, patent drawings and pendulums.

If you need to know about Calendar Clocks in general or need specific information as to pricing, originality and design, this latest reference book is a must for you. Periodic updates will also make this a permanent addition to your clock library.

LARRY RAPPAPORT Great Neck. New York

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