Read in 1960s, aged 7/8.Set in the then present and Victorian UK. Mustard & white hardback cover with black line drawings of an ornate mantel clock with dolphins/town house. A boy and girl found/bought the clock in the summer holidays and traveled by it to live with a family in Victorian times.
Addition: When I was 7 or 8 in the 1960s my dad read me a hardback library book which neither of us has forgotten and which we mention fondly now and again. My dad is 90 on 13 June and I want to find the book as a gift for him. I do not know the title or author. I remember a pale brown//yellow and white cover with a line drawing in black of a gilt clock and perhaps children. It was a book about children of the time (i.e.60s), a boy and a girl I think (I imagined them to be the same age as I was), who were given/bought a mantelpiece clock with ornate dolphins adorning it from a junk shop. It was the summer holidays. Through the clock they were transported to Victorian times where they lived as part of a Victorian family and had adventures. They found the Victorian clothes, etc. very strange.
I’ve been trying to remember a book featuring a dolphin clock for years without success. I thought the one I was looking for had golden in the title, but there were three kids and something about sailing.
However, the book you’re looking for sounds more like Time at the Top, by Edward Ormondroyd, or its sequel, All in Good Time.
Yes, golden may indeed have been in the title. I believe it was a gilt mantel clock with dolphins. I’ve checked and unfortunately the Edward Ormondroyd books are not the ones. Thank you for responding and for your suggestions.
This has piqued my curiosity but I haven’t had any luck so far. Was it a picture book or chapter book, and what country were you in?
Found it! Thank you WorldCat! I hope the original poster checks back. The book is TWO GOLD DOLPHINS by Elisabeth Beresford. Although the subject headings listed didn’t seem to match, further Google searches showed the cover and summaries. It sounds like John, Edward and Penny find a crystal ball, and when they all place their hands on it they see a gold dolphin on a clock. I came across 2 different covers :http://www.ebay.com/itm/TWO-GOLD-DOLPHINS-by-Elisabeth-Beresford-Domanska-1st-1st-HCDJ-1963-Children-/290643399254
and
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Two-Gold-Dolphins-Elisabeth-Beresford-Constable-Co-1961-/310432032790?pt=AU_Antiquarian_Collectable_Books&hash=item484730e816