Acorn Style Mantel Clock, Type II

Acorn-style mantel clock, dial signed J.C. Brown Bristol Ct. U.S. Fusee movement stamped Forestville M.F.G.C. Co, Bristol Ct. U.S.A. The Type II was shaped in at the waist and continued straight down. The earlier version of this model had shaped arms but the latter models did not, indicating a shift back to the square cases that were easier and more economical to manufacture.

This unique American clock was popular in the mid-19th century due to its graceful lines and lovely painted eglomisé glass panels. Competition in the American clock industry was fierce and any way a manufacturer could differentiate gave him a market edge. J. C. Brown (Jonathan Clark Brown) and his Forestville Manufacturing Co. may have been the sole maker of these clocks, although the person responsible for the actual design remains a mystery.