The Waterbury Clock Company was a major clock producer in the United States from 1857 until 1944. Waterbury began as a branch of the Benedict & Burnham Manufacturing Company. Benedict & Burnham was the largest brass producer in Waterbury. The company manufactured rolled and drawn brass, copper, cabinet hardware, and brass lamp burners.
Waterbury Calendar Clock circa 1875
Waterbury was located in the Benedict & Burnham shops until it moved to larger quarters in Waterbury, Connecticut. It grew so fast that by 1873 it had expanded several times. By the late 1800s, Waterbury employed about three thousand people and made over twenty thousand watches and clocks daily. Waterbury became internationally known in the 1870s because it had offices in Toronto, Canada; and Glasgow, Scotland.
Waterbury Shelf Clock circa 1880
Waterbury made and sold movements as well as complete clocks. By 1900 it had a business relationship with Sears Roebuck who at the time was one of the largerest mail-order houses. Waterbury sold many styles of clocks, including eight-day time & strike models in oak cases, which sold for $2 each.
Waterbury Carriage Clock dated 1881
In 1913, a Waterbury factory catalog illustrated more than four hundred styles of clocks, starting at $1.20. Their catalog included alarm, carriage, French mantel, and tall clocks. In the early 1890s, the firm manufactured non-jeweled watches, including the famous dollar watch made for R.H. Ingersoll & Brothers, and acted as selling agents for the Ithaca Calendar Clock Company. The affiliation with Ithaca lasted until 1891, when Waterbury introduced its own line of perpetual-calendar clocks.
Waterbury Mantel Clock dated 1885
During the Depression of the 1930s, the company went into receivership, and its case shop and clockmaking materials and parts were sold at auction. Waterbury's life as a clock and watch manufacturer ended when United States Time Corporation bought the company in 1944.
Waterbury Mantel Clock circa 1895
