I felt this mantle needed something special, and as I have been a long time admirer of antique clocks I started looking. I found this one on ebay. An early 1900s Ingraham with gong on the hour and a bell chime on the half. I love to hear it at night and in the wee hours of the morning, and wonder how many more lives it has kept time with over the years. Its like giving the house a heartbeat. Christie and I have a small collection of oriental things some old and some newer and thats what were decorating this room with this year. I also found the black clay dragon vases on ebay and think they fit with the theme . Lastly, while cleaning the mantle and tilework I noticed that the decorative surround for the firebox is made of solid brass, so I gave it a good buffing and clearcoat and now it looks like it belongs. These rooms tell you what they need if you only listen. Thats why the longer you live in a place the more comfortrable it becomes. Ok, I have added to my clock collection. On a trip to Nashville, we found this cool consignment store that had everything you could imagine. The day we happened to visit they had a 20% off sale and I found this beauty. its a Seth Thomas that was in nice condition for the price. It was just missing the glass on the dial. When I got it home I found that it had the special Adamantine finish which is sought after by collectors for its durable, and glossy looks. It also has marbleized inserts and collums. I was lucky to find a guy on Ebay that had an original convex dial galss that fit perfectly for only a couple of bucks. This one has a gong for the hour and a chime for the half hour.
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