Oval Office grandfather clock
The Seymour tall case clock in the White House, more commonly known as the Oval Office grandfather clock, is an longcase clock, made between 1795 and 1805 in Boston by John and Thomas Seymour, and has been located in the Oval Office since 1975. Since the presidency of Gerald Ford it has remained one of the few constant features in the office, throughout several renovations.
Features
Made of mahogany, it features " birch and satinwood veneers", a "double lunette inlay", and a movement likely made by James Doull of Charlestown, Massachusetts. According to a memo prepared for First Lady Betty Ford in 1975, the previous First Lady Patricia Nixon "... was partially gifted the 'wonderful collection of very beautiful and rather feminine American furniture' by the Seymours from Boston's Vernon Stoneman in 1972." Since installation in the Oval Office, it has been at the room's northeast corner. Immigrants from England, the Seymours are considered master cabinetmakers in the federal style. They perfected their craft in New England during "one of the most pivotal chapters in American history" to create "truly iconic pieces of American furniture". Its commercial value has been estimated at $100,000. An almost identical Seymour clock of the same period and materials is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.Historical appearances
Prior to the Seymour clock, another had preceded it in the Oval Office's northeast corner during the Lyndon B. Johnson and early Richard Nixon administrations, from 1965 to 1969. All 85 clocks in the White House, were maintained and wound by John Muffler, the White House's chief electrician and longest-serving employee. The chimes on all White House clocks have all been disabled since an order by Harry S. Truman, due to the difficulty of keeping them all synchronized.Jimmy Carter said that, during the last stages of the Iran hostage crisis negotiations when he spent forty-eight hours continuously in the Oval Office, "No matter who was with me, we watched the big grandfather clock by the door."
Due to its location, the clock has appeared in the background of many official photographs of successive American presidents receiving world leaders in the Oval Office, and during meetings: