Shelf Clock

Datec. 1904-1916

DimensionsOverall: 25.4 x 15.2 x 36.8 cm

Credit LineGift of Mrs. W. R. MacGregor, London, Ontario, 1964

Object number1964.006.204

Label TextArthur Pequegnat came from Switzerland to Berlin, Ontario around 1874 with his many brothers, sisters, and parents. In the 1880s he was importing watches for sale locally in western Ontario. Around 1897 Arthur built a factory in Berlin to manufacture ... bicycles! When that market started to decline, he began in 1904 to convert part of his factory over to making clock movements. Initially the clock wood cases were produced in local furniture factories, typically with quarter-cut oak but occasionally with optional mahogany or walnut. In the 1920s he set up his own small factory for case production in nearby Breslau. The name on most dials, on the labels (if still on the case), and on most movements is The Arthur Pequegnat Clock Company. The town name was changed from Berlin to Kitchener in September 1916 because of the First World War. Those date and city name changes make it possible to estimate the age of a Pequegnat clock. After Arthur died in 1927, relatives continued to operate the company until 1941. At that time the war-time shortage of brass, a key component in Pequegnat clock movements and other parts, forced the business to shut down. The factory never produced another clock and was later demolished in 1964. From: The Canadian Clock Museum

NameClock, Shelf