Name/Title
Clock: GE Box Clock, Italia, Model 2527 (TK)Description
A General Electric (GE) Clocks Division box clock with a five-color silkscreen print on off-white linen inset in a box frame, c.1962-65. The design includes a clock face of roman numerals superimposed on a scene depicting the ruins of the Coliseum, and the leaning tower of Pisa sitting atop an ionic column capital, with the word “ITALIA” rising from behind.
Below the clock face is a map of Italy overlayed with food and products for which Italy is well-known: wine, bread sticks, fish, olive oil, Venetian glass, and various fruits. The wood box frame is finished in brown paint.
This is one of three known box clock faces Wert designed for GE based on his own clock design patent; see images. Wert assigned the patent to GE in 1961 for a term of seven years, during which time GE manufactured the clocks and included them in their catalogs. Country Prints produced the linen clock faces in Gill, MA, and shipped them to GE for assembly.
According to a product tag on a “Theme of Time” clock (see separate entry), Wert’s box clocks are among the first battery operated wall clocks produced by GE.Made/Created
Artist Information
Artist
Robert Darr WertRole
DesignerManufacturer
General Electric Clocks, Country PrintsDate made
circa 1962 - circa 1965Time Period
20th CenturyNotes
This date range is based on Wert’s assigning of the patent to GE for a period of six years beginning in 1961.Inscription/Signature/Marks
“by hand for GENERAL ELECTRIC”, lower right cornerDimensions
Height
27 inWidth
13 inDepth
2-1/2 inMaterial
Bleached Linen, Textile Ink, Wood, Coodless Clock Works, PaintColors
Color
Light Brown, Yellow, Teal, Pink, BlackColor Notes
Colors refer to textile inks. Green produced by overprinting teal and yellow.
