Clock sold at auction in Glens Falls garners $39,000

Clock sold at auction in Glens Falls garners $39,000.GLENS FALLS -- It's a hefty price to pay for a grandfather clock -- $39,050. Even Tyrer Galleries owner Bob Tyrer says so.

But that's the price a Philadelphia Tall Case clock fetched at Tyrer's annual New Year's Day auction, setting a gallery record for clock prices.

"Most clocks go for anywhere up to $4,000. This price is unheard of. But it's really an exceptional piece of Americana. We had standing-room-only and seven people from all over the country making bids by phone," Tyrer said.

The clock dates to 1770, when its maker, William Hudson, crafted the piece in Mount Holly, N.J.

"Hudson was the son of the mayor of Philadelphia. He was a well-known clock maker," Tyrer said.

The clock was purchased by a "prominent family living in Salem, N.J.," in the 1800s, who then moved to Baltimore, Md., in the 1900s, according to Tyrer.

Tyrer said he couldn't say who the family was, per their request, but that the clock moved with the family to Whitehall in the mid-1970s.

Tyrer said the auction for the clock opened at around $8,000, with several bidders active.

"The clock is a walnut case Philadelphia Tall Case clock with a moon face and silvered dial," Tyrer said. "The Henry Francis DuPont Winterthur Museum (in Delaware) asked for photos of it in the 1970s for their archives. Anyone who knows antiques knows this museum. It means this clock is a rarity. At auction, people knew it was a find."...