Ingraham Clock

Throughout its history, E. Ingraham Company has offered a wide range of timepieces to meet the changing demands of consumers and technological advances. Founded in 1831, the Ingraham Clock Company became one of the most prolific manufacturers of American-made clocks.  The company was known for producing high-quality porcelain clocks and case clocks. A few tall case clocks as well as many wood case clocks were also produced by them. On Bidsquare live auctions, bid on our collection of vintage & antique Ingraham clocks for the best in antique handmade pieces.

Over the course of his career, Elias Ingraham, the founder created a number of partnerships and companies that bear his name, including Brewster & Ingrahams (1843-1852), E. & A. Ingrahams (1852-1856), and Elias Ingraham & Company (1857-1860). As a successor to these several earlier clock-making firms, Elias Ingraham & Company was formed in 1860. Until 1865, Ingraham purchased clock workings from other companies before setting up his own factory.

Prior to about 1890, Ingrahams and Brewster only manufactured pendulum clocks, such as the spring-driven 8-day pendulum clock. The company began producing lever escapement time and alarm clocks in the 1890s. After a decade of radical manufacturing changes, Ingraham Company began producing 30-hour alarm clocks and pocket watches as well as 8-day alarm levers and timepieces. When it comes to vintage Ingraham clocks with wooden farmhouse-style or decorative wall timepieces in metal colors and vintage brass, Bidsquare is a great place to shop.

Most of Ingraham's clocks contain a maker's mark or serial number that helps to date them and help modern collectors of antique Ingraham clocks identify styles that were produced over time. An American-made timepiece, the Elias Ingraham clock has the advantage of being easy to date within a few years, which makes it great for someone interested in history. It is common for Ingraham clocks to have either serial numbers, which indicate the date and month of manufacture, or the company's name stamped on the workings. 

A total of seventeen patents were awarded to Ingraham between 1853 and 1873, all of which related to the design of the clock case rather than the inner workings of clocks. In 1857, he received a patent for an unusual figure "8"-style door design that was used on many of his cases. Clocks with Gothic designs were early examples. The tops of these watches had rounded or pointed edges and were adorned with "steeples" on each side. The later versions included columns and rippled moldings as decorative elements. Paint, mother-of-pearl accents, and gilt columns in Grecian or Venetian styles adorned more elaborate clocks.

There have been a number of rosewood veneered case models with names such as "Doric", "Venetian", and "Ionic" that have become well known to the public over the years. A non-jeweled wristwatch was added to the company's product line in 1930, followed by an electric clock introduced in 1931.

A pioneer in the American clock industry, Ingraham’s son, Edward Ingraham developed a method for applying black enamel paint to wood clock cases and received a patent for it, which was for years the standard finish for high-end mantle clocks. The "Japanning" technique produced inexpensive imitations of French marble mantel clocks with Chinese motifs and achieved great success.

Quick Facts about Ingraham Clock

• Founded in 1831 by Elias Ingraham in Bristol, Connecticut, the company was controlled by the Ingraham family until 1956.
• Elias Ingraham lived 80 years before he died in 1885. The company was then headed by his son. After that, the company made clocks and moved into watchmaking before being acquired by McGraw-Edison Co, a conglomerate in 1967.