Year-Going Mantel Clock, A. D. Crane’s Patent

Dial signed Year Clock Co., New York, A.D.Crane's Patent. Movement with two large fusees strikes on a gong. Torsion pendulum with six-ball weight in a cherrywood Empire-style case, and original green paper label on the backboard.

Aaron Dodd Crane (1804–1860), from Caldwell, New Jersey, was an inventive horologist. In 1829, he received his first patent for an “improved” clock having only two wheels. In 1841, he was granted a patent for a torsion pendulum clock that ran for a year on one winding, like this one. About 1858, Crane moved to the Boston area and became interested in the manufacture of tower clocks. He died of tuberculosis in Roxbury, Massachusetts.