A RARE clock made by St Albans firm Thomas Mercer is expected to fetch up to £6,000 when it is auctioned at Christie's in London today (Friday, July 5) .
Described by the auction house as an English mahogany eight-day Hertfordshire table chronometer, the clock, made in about 1950, has the words Thomas Mercer and St Albans inscribed across the face.
The firm was founded in 1875 in Prospect Road, and moved in 1908 to a factory in Eywood Road, near the gas works.
It closed in 1995, and the owner, Mr Tony Mercer, now lives near Grange-over-Sands in Cumbria.
Although the time-piece up for auction is a vertical house clock, the firm specialised in marine chronometers.
Mr Mercer, who has written a history of the firm, said: "This shows the wonderful workmanship that went into it.
"The price we asked for at the time was £48."
July 5, 2002 10:00
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