Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library

Lamp Clock; night alarum; white milk glass dome in two halves, mounted on white metal pedestal; upper half-dome with minutes, numerals, lower half-dome with hour numerals; base with two-prong electrical connector and on/off button; spring-powered domes revolve to indicate hours and minutes; beneath globe, a metal ring with hours, numerals, to set alarum to fixed index. (a) clock; (b) dome

In the 1700s and 1800s, clocks that struck the half hour or hour helped people know the time during the night. This clock, made around 1900, could be lit at nighttime. An electric light bulb, controlled by a button, illuminated the glass globe. The pointer on the lower portion of the revolving globe indicated the hour; a pointer on the upper portion designated the minute.