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Antique New Departure No. 7 rotary gong alarm bell, made by the New Departure Bell Company of Bristol, Connecticut. Base casting reads \"PAT\'D JULY 1891 — OTHERS PENDING,\" dating this pattern to the earliest years of New Departure\'s rotary gong production, before the company\'s 1901 name change and decades before it became GM\'s ball bearing division. Hammer hub is marked \"NEW DEPARTURE ALARM BELL, BRISTOL, CT.\"
Bronze gong with original cast iron mechanism and factory base plate. Bells of this type saw service on streetcars, fire apparatus, and as factory and watchman alarms in the 1890s–1910s.
Condition:
Gong rings clear with strong sustain — no cracks, no dead spots
Rotary hammer mechanism turns freely and strikes correctly when rotated by hand (see video)
Vertical actuator rod is stiff and does not currently depress; likely surface rust in the guide bore. Original foot pedal linkage not present, as is typical for these
Untouched original patina throughout — never polished, never restored
Mounted on a later fabricated three-leg iron display stand; bell and base casting are original New Departure
Gong diameter: 11.25 inches. Total weight with stand: approx. 30 lbs.
Sold as found, honestly described. Photos and video are of the actual item — what you see and hear is what arrives.Provenance: Acquired directly from a Seattle-area family. The seller related that the bell had been in her family for generations and described it as having come from a San Francisco streetcar. This is family oral history and is offered as such — no documentation accompanies the bell, and nothing on the bell itself identifies a transit operator. Buyers should evaluate the story on its own merits.
