Hi, Brad! Welcome to my blog. The 8 day vs 30 hour question can be figured out pretty quickly by winding it up and seeing how long it runs before needing to be re-wound. There are other things that, to a real expert, would give a hint. One little thing I “learned” is that the position of the winding arbours seems to be specific to the mechanism duration, for example. If the arbours are near the center of the clock face above the “4” and “8” mark, it is likely a 30 hour mechanism; if they are closer to the edge in the midst of the “5” and “7” marks, it is likely an 8 day mechanism.

If you want more information on clocks, you might want to check out the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors (NAWCC) forums. What little I know has mostly come from asking questions of the experts there. Regardless, you have a real piece of history there!