Chapter 92
Southwestern Ontario
(National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors)
February 2, 2025 Meeting
The images shown in the slide deck gallery above are all from the Miller and Miller Auction site that sold the Lemp clock described on this Web page. (Double-click the image to view the slide show in full-screen.)
Double click on the gallery to view images in full-screen.
Coming in April
A 1905 vintage leather dashboard clock holder. Automobile clocks from the first-half of the twentieth century will be the theme of our April 6 meeting. Bring in your "car clock" to show off to our members.
Don Sinclair will be the featured speaker at our April 6 meeting. Don will give a one-hour workshop on the layout of roman numeral dials with compass, protractor and a 30- 60-degree combination square. It will be done with a permanent marker.
Our meeting was held on February 2, 2025 at the Mount Brydges Legion Hall.
The guest speaker was Donna Dickson who spoke about the "five" Lemp clocks crafted by John Lemp of Tavistock. John is definitely credited with making four of these large, eight foot tall clocks while the fifth is believed to have been made by his grandson Ernie Piehl.
Donna is a member of the Tavistock Historical Society. They successfully bid on the Lemp clock that came up for sale at Miller and Miller Auctions in February of this year. The details about this sale are presented below. The slide show on the left provides images that were presented on the Miller and Miller Website in support of the auction sale.
Monumental Clock by John K. Lemp, Tavistock Ontario
Estimate:
CA$4,000 - CA$6,000
Sold
CA$6,000
Live Auction
Select Canadiana Furniture, Folk Art, Textiles, and Pottery
Size
95.25" x 35" x 17".
Category
Description
A clock of substantial proportions, almost 8' tall, made by John K. Lemp (1860-1938) for his nephew W. J. Leonard in 1931. Lemp was a machinist/carpenter in Tavistock, Ontario, and made five large clocks in the 1890s for his family, all of his design and of monumental size. Included in the lot is a book where a family member has written a list of the original five clocks and their owners. This clock has a mahogany case, inlaid and embellished with carved rosettes and has two large dials (clock and date) stacked vertically over a glass door showing the pendulum. The base consists of two small drawers flanking a bowed middle drawer over two doors having inlaid panels. Another of the clocks is in the Canadian Museum of History, and another was known to be at the Queen's Hotel in Stratford, Ontario. John K. Lemp was listed in the Mercantile Agency Reference Book (Dun, Woman & Co.) in 1884 and was still in business in 1937. This clock has descended in the original family for three generations, illustrated in "Early Canadian Timekeepers" by Varkaris and Connell, page 194 and also see "A Splendid Harvest" by Bird and Kobayashi, p.120. This lot includes various early photographs of John Lemp and other family members, research material, spare parts and pieces; all pertinent to the provenance. Stamped inside on maker's plate. Handwritten note on interior identifying the maker.
Condition
Excellent condition with original finish. Tested as working. The calendar advances properly. Not guaranteed for timekeeping accuracy. Light toning on perimeter of the clock and calendar dials.
Provenance
See Connell & Varkaris (p.194) & A Splendid Harvest (Bird & Kobayashi; p.120). Consignor comments: One is held by the National History Museum in Ottawa - this one has been in my friend's family for 3 generations.
Donna Dickson, pictured at left, provided a detailed look at the Lemp clocks that are well known in the Tavistock region. Donna is deeply involved with the Tavistock Historical Society which has recently purchased a Lemp clock.
The fifty-fifty draw was won by Roy Glanville who generously donated his winnings back to the club. Thank you Roy for your generosity.
Madison Laprise and 50/50 draw winner Roy Glanville.
In keeping with the theme of this meeting "wooden clocks", a number of wooden clocks were brought in by our members. Ted Arthur brought in a number of wooden clocks including his War of 1812 example that was featured in our February Newsletter.
Ted Arthur describes one of his wooden clocks during the "show and tell" portion of our meeting.
The featured speaker for our April 6 meeting will be Don Sinclair who will present an old-school, hands-on one-hour demonstration of Roman-numeraled clock dial painting and detailing. Don has been collecting clocks since 1987. He specializes in railroad, commercial type clocks, pinwheels, master and slave clocks as well as electrical mechanical clocks.
The theme for the April 6 meeting is all about automobile clocks/timekeeping during the first half of the twentieth century.