My Grandfather's Clocks (The true story of a grandson's search for an American inventor's lost collection), 59K words, is a memoir recounting a grandson's search for a missing 13-clock collection, each designed and handcrafted by his grandfather, Charles Allison, in the 1930s-1950s.
PICTURE IT - SUMMER 1908:
Growing up in rural Western NY, Charley Allison was raised in a farming family. At 16 in 1908, all that changed. Noting potential in the boy, a family friend loaned him an oversized Gubelin pocket watch to study/repair...and a watchmaker was born.
CHARLEY'S COLLECTION: Relocating to Los Angeles, watch repair became Charley's bread and butter but, sometime around 1936, he began to stretch his skills. His first creation was the Allison Mystery Clock, a time-keeping device with no visible means of propulsion. Over a period of 15 years, he added 12 unique timepieces to the Allison Collection-displaying them in his Sherman Oaks, CA shop. People from all over began to take notice.
WATCHMAKERS, ENGINEERS, & HOLLYWOOD CELEBRITIES: The Allison Shop Guest Book records signatures and comments of praise from many visitors, including Charlie Ruggles (Bringing Up Baby) and Dana Andrews (The Best Years of our Lives). Upon Charley's death, the collection was museum-bound. Unfortunately...it was lost.
PICTURE IT: September 1981.
One autumn evening, Greg Allison's dad had a scotch and told him a story about his own father, Charley Allison, and the fantastic clock collection Charley had designed and hand-crafted. The big draw was the grandfather's "Allison Mystery Clock", which had gained a little fame through word of mouth and some local newspaper articles. Charley thought of the design for this clock in a dream. The Allison Watchmakers visitor log includes signatures and comments from celebrity names of the era, such as:
- Gene Krupa, drummer for The Benny Goodman Orchestra wrote "In sincere appreciation of the love you have for your work--I'd like to be able to keep time as well as your clocks and watches do--and I'm supposed to be a fair drummer!"
- Mary Astor, who starred opposite Humphrey Bogart in The Maltese Falcon, wrote "This is something new and different!"
- Sterling Holloway (the voice of animated Winnie the Pooh) said "For "The Wizard of Time" Allison. The Modern Joshua."
That night in 1981, 15-year-old Greg Allison vowed to locate the missing collection when he grew up. And a quest was born. He never dreamed that it would take over 40 years and would lead him through multiple American subcultures, including Western NY's Amish community and the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors. Or that, after several cross-country research trips, he'd finally rediscover the clocks in an unlikely place-a former church building in Montana. Or that, along the journey, as a gay man, he would gain insights into manhood-and what it means to carry forward a family name.
Each chapter begins with a quote from Allison Watchmaker's shop guest book. The narrative includes technical dissection and detailed interior photos of the recovered timepieces.