The Appreciation and Authentication of Civil War Timepieces

Clint B. Geller (FNAWCC) examines the intersection of the American Civil War and American watch-making.

Beginning with a definition of a "Civil War watch" and a positioning of the Civil War in American history, Geller proceeds by examining the impact of the Civil War on American perceptions of time, the impact of the Civil War on American watch-making, and in turn the impact of American watch-making on the conduct and course of the war.

The middle section of the book examines the general characteristics of Civil War watches, both domestic and foreign, including movements, dials and hands, watchcases, and the numerous technical features differentiating the most popular models. Geller offers advice for authenticating the provenance of Civil War timepieces and assessing their desirability.

The final section of the book showcases several outstanding Civil War watches, the lives of the men who carried them, their units, and the battles in which they fought and in some cases died.

With 162 images, including many original photos of timepieces, along with tables and extensive references, this book makes an excellent addition to the collection of any horologist, historian, or Civil War enthusiast.

Dr. Geller is a research physicist at a United States government laboratory and lives in Pittsburgh, PA with his wife of thirty-two years. He has collected, researched and written about early American pocket watches since the mid-1980s. This publication is his second full-length book in the horological field, and his first book to focus on aspects of horology relating specifically to the American Civil War. In 2002, Dr. Geller chaired the "Boston: Cradle of Industrial Watchmaking" NAWCC National Seminar in Boxboro, Massachusetts. In 2006, he chaired the "American Watchmaking II" Ward Francillon National NAWCC Seminar in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Geller was made an NAWCC Fellow in 2003, and he received the NAWCC's James W. Gibbs Award for literary achievement in horology in 2009. Dr. Geller has published in numerous physics and engineering journals and he holds two United States patents for technical inventions. He is also a science fiction/fantasy novelist, the author of the Gennebar Rising trilogy. Dr. Geller can be contacted through the NAWCC and through his blog, ClintGeller.com.