E. Howard & Co., Boston, Mass., for Ashcroft, New York, marine lever, 8 day, time only, spring-driven movement with jeweled lever escapement in brass case with hinged bezel, 6.5 inch silvered dial inscribed with "Bureau of Lighthouses / Camellia / 1910",

E. Howard & Co., Boston, Mass., for Ashcroft, New York, marine lever, 8 day, time only, spring-driven movement with jeweled lever escapement in brass case with hinged bezel, 6.5 inch silvered dial inscribed with "Bureau of Lighthouses / Camellia / 1910", subsidiary seconds, black spade hands, movement serial number 1755. The brass case has an original dark, splotchy patina. The protective lacquer over the silvered dial has yellowed, but is likely original. The hour hand has been repaired and the seconds hand is absent. The well-made Howard movement has 11 jewels and finely finished plates. The movement ticks. The Bureau of Lighthouses was a United States government agency from 1910 until 1939 when it was merged into the United States Coast Guard. It was responsible for the maintenance of all lighthouses and light vessels in the United States. The Camellia, surely among its earliest vessels, was a 116 foot long lighthouse tender built for service on the waters of Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi Sound.