Dec 03 2002
Clock Question
When I was in England in September, my stepmother surprised me by asking me to sort through and take with me as much of Dad’s remaining things as I could. So I did. The one thing I could not pack up and carry away or mail to myself was the grandfather clock, which has been in the family since it was made, 250 years ago. After I got home, I started looking for shipping firms. These inquiries made me realize that I needed someone to appraise the clock so I could insure it so it could be shipped. So the whole thing kind of snowballed.
I located a gentleman who was willing to pick up the clock, repair it (it stopped running when my father died), appraise it, build a case for it (to which he refers as a “coffin”, and said that such cases had actually been used as such in the past), and ship it, using a specialist firm he had used before with good results. After the fiasco of my mother’s move, for which we are still trying to exact vengeance, this seemed particularly important. So the clock was picked up on Friday while I was in Mendocino, and by the time I got home and checked my email, the clock fixer had already sent me a detailed report on my clock, including an estimate for repairing it.
The clock was made around 1750, but at some point during its long life, most likely in the Victorian era, it suffered various indignities, including being cut down by about a foot and having its melodious bell replaced with a horrible gong. I am definitely having everything fixed and replaced as suggested, but the big question is: should we restore the lost foot of height and have it returned to its original splendor? If we do, it will look something like this.
Restoring the height will cost around $1,000, but it’s already costing me a fortune to have it fixed and shipped (the report you saw didn’t include any of the shipping, insurance, coffin building, etc.). Part of me feels that I’m already spending so damn much I might as well go all the way and do it right. If I restore it completely, the value will triple, which is both a good thing and a bad thing, since I will have to spend more for insurance and worry more about its well-being. But it will be historically accurate. The other part of me says, well, my grandparents never saw it in its original condition, and I suspect my great-grandfather, who lived over his butcher shop, may have cut down the clock to fit it upstairs. So it’s not like I’d be putting it back the way they knew it.
I’ll ask my brother and sisters, but in the meantime, I’m taking a poll. Should I go all the way or not?
When you ask a question like that, you just expect trouble.
6 Responses to “Clock Question”
If you can afford it and it has as much meaning to you as I feel I picked up on in the mail I think you should.
As one who doesn’t actually have to shell out the money, I say go for it!
All the way, Suzy!
yeah, I’d say all the way too.
Ah, I must dissent. Your dad didn’t restore it, so neither should you. IMO, of course. You do what you think is right.
It’s a gorgeous clock, and if you’re spending that much money anyway, you might as well have a clock that looks immaculate. True, your father didn’t restore it. But, it was his clock nonetheless. In my opinion, you should go all out and restore your dad’s clock.