Howard Walwyn Catalogue 2026

HOWARD WALWYN

HOWARD WALWYN FINE ANTIQUE CLOCKS

FINE ANTIQUE CLOCKS

HOWARD WALWYN FINE ANTIQUE CLOCKS

123 Kensington Church Street, London W8 7LP +44 (0)20 7938 1100 | howard@howardwalwyn.com www.howardwalwyn.com

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Member of the British Antique Dealers’ Association

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INTRODUCTION It gives us great pleasure to be able to offer you our latest selection of fine English Clocks dating from the 1670s up until the mid-1800s.

Among a number of quite exceptional longcase clocks we have been fortunate enough to find is a previously unrecorded early architectural parquetry example in princes wood by Henry Jones circa 1672-1675. We also have a rare pre-numbered parquetry and oyster olivewood longcase of month duration by Thomas Tompion and a small William III period 10-inch walnut by him.

There are also two important ebony table clocks by Tompion and other pieces by Joseph Knibb, Daniel Quare, George Graham et al.

Further early highlights include a beautiful silver mounted tortoiseshell spring clock by Jonathan Puller circa 1680 and an olivewood hour-striking and repeating table clock of rare small size by Jacob Hassenius who became clockmaker to Peter the Great of Russia in the 1690s.

From the 18th century we have two grand chinoiserie longcases, one in red chinoiserie lacquer, the other in green lacquer. The latter was made by John Ellicott, clockmaker to George III and has a full hour and quarter-chiming movement.

For the wall, amongst other treasures, we have an important large scale early black and gilt chinoiserie tavern clock by John Howard at the Horse Ferry in Chelsea and a classic George III period mahogany drop dial wall clock by William Dutton & Sons.

We are exhibiting at the prestigious Treasure House Art and Antiques Fair from 25th June – 30th June this year.

We look forward to seeing you soon Howard Walwyn

(All the bracket clocks illustrated are measured excluding their handles and finials)

HOWARD WALWYN FINE ANTIQUE CLOCKS

123 Kensington Church Street, London W8 7LP +44 (0)20 7938 1100 | howard@howardwalwyn.com www.howardwalwyn.com

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HENRY JONES IN THE TEMPLE LONDON A rare Charles II period princes wood parquetry architectural longcase clock by this famous successor to Edward East.

The elegant architectural case has a hood with a moulded triangular pediment above an open dial aperture, surmounted by three gilt brass flambeau finials and flanked by original Solomonic columns. The long slender trunk door is decorated with bold geometric parquetry panels, including starburst motifs and circular reserves, within a moulded surround. The princes wood veneers have fine colour and patination and the original base is formed as a plain plinth with a large star parquetry panel to the front.

Amazingly it retains its four original bun feet - a very rare feature, particularly for a clock of this early date.

The early 10-inch square brass dial is boldly signed Henry Jones in the Temple along the bottom edge of the front plate. It has four fire-gilt winged cherub-head spandrels to the corners and a narrow silvered chapter ring with Roman hour numerals and an outer band of Arabic five-minute markers. There is a subsidiary seconds ring and a chamfered date aperture to the finely matted centre.

The two trains are wound through the front of the dial with classic bolt-and-shutter maintaining power.

The 8-day hour striking plated movement with its original anchor escapement is held together by six latched pillars and has outside count wheel strike, sounding the hours on a single bell mounted above.

There are what appear to be clockmaker’s inscriptions on the inside of the back plate, presumably made after repairs.

These clearly tell us that the clock spent time in France from 1761 until at least 1808. There is also a decorative spade cut out to the front plate which was almost certainly made by a French clockmaker at that time.

Clocks of this early period constructed in princes wood are exceptionally rare, with only a handful of examples recorded. As the most expensive wood available to makers of this period, it speaks to the wealth and status of the clientele Jones made this clock for. Another known clock which is very similar in design is an Architectural Longcase veneered in princes wood by Samuel Knibb, made for Charles II. It was prescribed by George IV as a gift to the librarian of Windsor Castle in the early 1800s.

Another architectural longcase veneered walnut by Henry Jones which is almost identical in both its movement and case can be found on page 246 of Innovation and Collaboration, by Richard Garnier and Leo Hollis.

However, this is the first and only princes wood clock of this period with parquetry veneers throughout the case that we have seen.

References: Garnier & Hollis, Innovation and Collaboration, p. 222 clock 51, p. 246 clock 63.

Exceptional English Clockwork- The Keith Roberts Collection. p. 31-40.

C. Stuart Kelley, Henry Jones- Clockmaker of London, Antiquarian Horology, 2004 Carter Marsh Co. The John C. Taylor Collection Part II, p.74-79.

*Henry Jones (c.1632–1695) was a London clockmaker and watchmaker who was active in the third quarter of the seventeenth century through to his death in 1695.

He entered the trade through the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers and is documented as apprenticed to the eminent Edward East on 22 August 1654. He took up his freedom on July 6th 1663. His main workshop address is consistently linked with the Temple precinct, particularly the Inner Temple and the Inner Temple Lane, an association he advertised directly in signatures such as “Henry Jones in ye Temple.”

Henry Jones’s importance lies in the exceptional quality and rarity of his early clocks within the “East school” tradition, and in his senior role within the Clockmakers’ Company hierarchy. His ascent, however, was slightly unorthodox.

When he was first nominated to be steward in 1676, he turned down the position, paying a fine of 6 pounds for this action. He was eventually appointed as Junior Warden in 1687, Renter Warden in 1688, Upper Warden in 1689, and finally Master in 1691. The records show his last attended meeting was in 1694, one year before his passing.

Today his work is held in the highest regard by discerning collectors around the world and his clocks are displayed in a number of museums. The British Museum currently houses two of his clocks: one an ebonised architectural table clock, the other a walnut veneered longcase clock with a carved hood cresting.

Documentary references from the period connect Jones to a number of elite patrons who were buying only the very best clocks. A Clockmakers’ Company record (printed in later Company histories) reports Jones informing the Court in January 1673 that he had made a clock for Charles II valued at £150, engraved “Henricus Jones Londini”.

Henry Jones’s last will and testament paints a clear picture of the success he enjoyed as a clockmaker, being the owner of nine different properties, including his workshop. He also made generous bequests to different people, including 100 pounds to five poor widows. His wife, Hannah, died in 1707, and her will indicates that she distributed 980 pounds - a relative fortune at the time - not to mention that this was only two thirds of his estate. The other third went to his son, Henry Jones Jr. HW6479

Date: circa 1672-1675 Height: 74 ¾ in (190 cm) excluding finials

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THOMAS TOMPION, LONDON, NO 181 A fine William & Mary period transitional Phase I-II ebony veneered striking and pull-quarter repeating bracket clock

by England’s most famous clockmaker.

The 7 x 8-inch rectangular gilt-brass dial is signed Tho. Tompion Londini Fecit to the lower edge. It has Rise/ Fall and Strike/Silent in the top corners and finely chased gilt-brass winged cherub spandrels adorning the bottom corners to the engraved silvered chapter ring. It has both Roman and Arabic chapters and Tompion’s sword hilt half-hour markers. The elaborately pierced and finely sculpted blued steel hour and minute hands which are set off by the finely matted centre with its dummy pendulum aperture are typical of his work at this date.

The substantial twin fusee 8-day key wound movement has latched dial feet and further latches for the seven knopped and ringed movement pillars. It has a spring suspended verge escapement with a lenticular shaped brass pendulum bob. The hours are sounded upon a single bell with the quarters repeated via Tompion’s ingenious pull-repeat system. This complex and beautifully designed mechanism operates the quarter hammer and sounds one to three on a further smaller bell. The backplate with its exquisite foliate engraving is the work of Tompion’s Graver 155. The rectangular reserve below the centre is signed Thomas Tompion Londini Fecit. It had Tompion’s punch number 181 to the centre lower edge of the backplate which was removed by the thieves in the 1990s.

The beautifully proportioned Phase I case has an oak carcass and is veneered in ebony. It has a chased gilt foliate sound fret along the top cross rail at the front and carved wood ebony frets to each side. The chased gilt brass thistle bud carrying handle is typical of those Tompion used at this time.

Date: circa 1691 Height: 13 ¾ in (35 cm) excluding handle Width: 10 ¾ in (27.25 cm) Depth: 6 ⅞ in (17.5 cm) * This clock belongs to a small group of about six Tompion table clocks which mark the transition from his Phase I type square dials with no subsidiary dials to the full Phase 2 type which have taller rectangular dials and cases with two subsidiary dials at the top for strike/silent and rise/fall.

One such very similar transitional striking and quarterrepeating table clock is the Churchill Tompion N° 168 and the Tompion N° 182 which we also handled . The ebony veneered case can almost certainly be attributed to the workshop of Jasper Braem who was Tompion’s cabinet maker at this date.

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In 1703 Tompion was elected Master of the Clockmakers’ Company. He is known to have made about 650 clocks, approximately 16-20 clocks a year. Sometime between 1680 and 1685 he devised a numbering system for his clocks and watches which go up to 542. The present clock is remarkably similar to N° 171 illustrated in figure 125 on page 150 in R.W. Symonds’ book. His numbering system was continued after Tompion’s death by his successor George Graham.

Provenance: Biggs of Maidenhead Advertisement in Antiques Horology June 1957 R. A. Lee in the Connoisseur Magazine 1973 Private collection in Warminster, Wiltshire.

Stolen, late 1991 Paulus van Pauwvliet Collection, Amsterdam Bonhams Auctions, London, July 2024 References: Dawson, Drover, Parkes, Early English Clocks Jeremy Evans, Thomas Tompion at The Dial and Three Crowns Evans, Carter, Wright, Thomas Tompion 300 Years R. W. Symonds, Thomas Tompion His Life and Work, TT N° 171 fig.125 p.150, TT N° 220 fig.120 p.149 Brian Loomes, Clockmakers of Britain, pp.491-492 HW6478

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THOMAS TOMPION LONDINI FECIT

THOMAS TOMPION 1639 - 1713

A fine Charles II period month duration oyster olivewood and parquetry veneered longcase clock by England’s greatest Clockmaker.

Thomas Tompion is the most highly respected English clockmaker. Born at Ickwell Green, Bedfordshire in 1639 he moved to London in 1671 and became a free brother in the Clockmakers’ Company. In 1674, he established his business at the sign of the Dial and Three Crowns in Water Lane, now called Whitefriars Street. There he met Dr Robert Hooke, an eminent physicist and mathematician, who exchanged ideas with him in the early part of his career when he was gaining commissions for some of his most important clocks and scientific instruments. Through this association Tompion came to the notice of Charles II and from that time he held an unrivalled position in English Horology.

The perfectly proportioned small case is constructed primarily of oak and veneered with parquetry star inlays and richly patinated walnut and oyster olivewood of excellent colour. The clock stands on four bun feet and the long trunk door retains its original steel hinges. The hood is flanked by barley twist columns and has been converted back to rising.

The beautifully finished, substantial movement is of month duration with six latched finned pillars and latched dial feet.

There is bolt-and-shutter maintaining power and the hours are sounded on a single bell via an outside locking plate.

The 10-inch square brass dial is of good mellow colour with a matted centre and narrow silvered chapter and seconds rings.

There is an aperture to view the day of the month and the pierced and faceted steel pointers are of outstanding quality. The original corner spandrels are of the winged cherub variety and the beautiful, bold maker’s signature is set below six o’clock.

Overall the clock is in a fine state of preservation. The wheelwork in the movement is in excellent condition, the only replaced wheel we are aware of, being the escape wheel. The bun feet, of course, have been replaced but the bottom box is intact and the backboard runs the full length of the case. Over the years there have been some minor repairs to the mouldings and veneers, but nothing more than one expects to see on a clock of this early date.

Date: circa 1680 Height: 75 ¾ in (192.5 cm) References: R. W. Symonds, Thomas Tompion His Life and Work Jeremy Evans, Thomas Tompion at the Dial and Three Crowns Brian Loomes, Clockmakers of Britain: 1286 -1700, pp. 491-492 Evans, Carter, Wright, Thomas Tompion 300 Years

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In 1695 George Graham joined Tompion and married his niece. In 1701 Tompion took Edward Banger into partnership, another niece’s husband, who had previously been his apprentice. They broke up acrimoniously in 1707 and Graham was then made a full partner. Clocks signed by both Tompion and Graham are very rare.

In 1703 Tompion was elected Master of the Clockmakers’ Company. He is known to have made about 650 clocks, approximately 16-20 clocks a year. Sometime between 1680 and 1685 he devised a numbering system for his clocks and watches which go up to 542. This was continued after Tompion’s death by his successor George Graham but this early longcase was made before he started his numbering system. Tompion died many years later in 1713 and as a mark of his greatness he is buried in Westminster Abbey.

CC04

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JACOB HASSENIUS AT WIGHT HALL A rare small William and Mary period olivewood veneered striking and quarter repeating table clock by this interesting Anglo-Russian clockmaker.

The diminutive case is veneered in well-figured olivewood of good colour and patination, the front door incorporating oyster veneers and fitted with a pierced brass key escutcheon. There is an overhanging moulded cornice and a stepped caddy top, surmounted by a shallow repoussé brass basket with richly worked panels of flowers, scrolling foliage and birds, backed in red silk. It terminates with four acorn finials at the corners and a finely cast handle with dolphin decoration. Each side has a plain glazed rectangular window and the rear door is similarly glazed with a moulded edge and matching escutcheon. It stands on a moulded base with four wooden block feet.

The 6-inch dial has a silvered chapter ring engraved with Roman hour numerals and Arabic five-minute markers, and distinctive fleur-de-lys half-hour marks set against an inner quarter-hour track. The finely matted centre has a small calendar aperture, framed by cast winged cherub-head spandrels, and is fitted with finely pierced blued steel hands.

The movement is of 8-day duration with twin gut fusees and five knopped and ringed pillars, driving a knife-edge verge escapement behind a shaped apron. It strikes the hours on a bell via a rack, and the hours and quarters are repeated by pulling the cord on the right-hand side, sounding on the hour bell and a further smaller bell for the quarter work. The backplate is finely engraved with tulips and scrolling foliage and signed Jacobus Hazenius At Wight Hall within a foliate cartouche.

Jacobus (James) Hassenius is recorded as a Russianborn watch and clockmaker working in London, and was made a Free Brother of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers in January 1682/3. He paid quarterage until 1697, after which it is generally thought he returned to Russia. This aligns closely with Peter the Great’s celebrated visit to London, when the Tsar actively recruited skilled craftsmen to return to Russia with him and use their technical expertise for his modernising programme.

A particularly telling document follows in 1698. Hassenius was granted a warrant permitting him to export a group of clocks and tools “to Muscovy for the use of his Imperial Majesty the Czar of Muscovy,” including long clocks and a “great table clock,” suggesting direct court patronage and the practical role London-made clocks played in Russia’s drive to import Western technical skills and technology.

Hassenius’s Whitehall address, engraved on this clock’s backplate, underlines a prestigious London presence at the very centre of government and court life. His surviving work is valued for its strong late-17th-century English construction paired with notably confident, decorative backplate engraving.

References: S. Dzik, Engraving on English Table Clocks: Art on a Canvas of Brass 1660–1800, Wild Boar Publications, ref.H3-3 Radage, Meinen, Radage, Through the Golden Age: Charles Gretton, pp.270-271, pp.285-286, p.308.

Keith Stella, James or Jacob Hassenius, a clock and watchmaker in London and Moscow, Antiquarian Horology, No. 1 Vol. 45, March 2024 HW6661

Date: circa 1690 Height: 11 in (28 cm) Width: 8 ⅝ (22 cm) Depth: 5 ⅝ in (14.25 cm)

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THOMAS TOMPION LONDINI FECIT

THOMAS TOMPION 1639 - 1713

A fine Charles II period pre-numbered burr walnut veneered longcase clock by this most celebrated Clockmaker.

Thomas Tompion is the best known and highly respected English clockmaker. Born at Ickwell Green, Bedfordshire in 1639 he moved to London in 1671 and became a free brother in the Clockmakers’ Company.

In 1674, he established his business at the sign of the Dial and Three Crowns in Water Lane, now called Whitefriars Street. There he met Dr Robert Hooke, an eminent physicist and mathematician, who exchanged ideas with him in the early part of his career when he was gaining commissions for some of his most important clocks and scientific instruments. Through this association Tompion came to the notice of Charles II and from that time he held an unrivalled position in English Horology.

The perfectly proportioned small case is constructed primarily of oak and veneered with burr walnut of excellent colour. The clock stands on four bun feet and the long trunk door retains its original steel hinges. The flat hood is flanked by Solomonic columns and has been converted back to rising.

The well-finished, substantial movement with original anchor escapement is of week duration with six latched, knopped and ringed pillars and latched dial feet. There is bolt-and-shutter maintaining power and the hours are sounded on a single bell via an inside locking plate. The wheelwork of the movement is in excellent condition with no apparent replacements. The original pendulum has a lenticular shaped bob, brass rod and an engraved graduated rating nut.

The 10-inch square brass dial is of good mellow colour with a matted centre and narrow silvered chapter and seconds rings. There is an aperture to view the day of the month above VI and the pierced and faceted steel pointers are of outstanding quality. The original corner spandrels are of the winged cherub variety and the bold maker’s signature is set below six o’clock on the dial plate within the wheatear engraved border.

Date: circa 1680-1685 Height: 75 ¼ in (191 cm) Width: 17 ¼ in (43.75 cm) Depth: 9 ¾ in (24.75 cm) This fine clock is illustrated on page 279, plate 379 of Early English Clocks by Dawson, Drover and Parkes.

References: Jeremy Evans, Thomas Tompion at the Dial and Three Crowns Evans Carter Wright, Thomas Tompion 300 Years R. W. Symonds, Thomas Tompion His Life and Work Dawson, Dover, Parkes, Early English Clocks, p.279, plate 379 Provenance: Believed to have been exhibited at the Royal Exchange, London in 1933 Percy Webster, Apollo, November 1938; Sotheby’s, London, 3rd June 1949, lot 195; R.A. Lee, Antiquarian Horology, vol. 8, September, 1974, p. 819.

Property from a Distinguished Private Collection, Sotheby’s London, June 2022 The Collection of Sir Colin Corness, 2026 CC05

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In 1703 Tompion was elected Master of the Clockmakers’ Company. He is known to have made about 650 clocks, approximately 16-20 clocks a year.

Sometime between 1680 and 1685 he devised a numbering system for his clocks and watches which go up to 542. This was continued after Tompion’s death by his successor George Graham but this early longcase was made before he started his numbering system. Tompion died many years later in 1713 and as a mark of his greatness he is buried in Westminster Abbey.

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THOMAS TOMPION LONDINI FECIT- NO 376 An exceptional Phase II ebony table clock of rare small size, the 8-day hour-striking movement with pull quarterrepeat work.

The ebony veneered case has a domed top surmounted by a faceted fire gilt handle held by cast foliate mounts. The front door is fitted with a glazed panel behind a carved wooden foliate fret backed in red silk. Each side door has a similar silk-backed scrolling wooden sound fret. Fire gilt escutcheons embellish the front of the case, which stands on a stepped moulded plinth on four block feet.

The clock has a 6 by 7 inch latched brass dial bearing a silvered brass chapter ring with Roman numerals, Arabic five minutes and sword hilt half-hour markers. It is signed by the maker Tho. Tompion Londini Fecit at the top, while fire gilt foliate spandrels adorn each corner of the dial. The centre of the dial is finely matted with a dummy pendulum aperture and finely pierced bluedsteel hands. Above the chapter ring there are two small subsidiary dials: one marked for Strike/Silent, and the other for adjusting the pendulum rate (Rise/Fall). These subsidiary dials in the upper corners are characteristic of Tompion’s Phase II bracket clocks.

The 8-day twin fusee movement is fully latched for both the dial feet and pillar bases. It uses Tompion’s original spring-suspended verge escapement regulated by a small lenticular brass pendulum bob. It strikes the hours on a bell, and Tompion’s cord assisted pull-repeat mechanism repeats the last quarter hour on a smaller secondary bell. The backplate is profusely engraved by Graver 195 with fine foliate scrollwork and is signed Thomas Tompion Londini Fecit within a cartouche below the centre and punch numbered 376 in the centre of the bottom edge.

Date: circa 1700-1702 Height: 12 ¾ in (32.3 cm) excl. handle Height: 13 ½ in. (34.3 cm) incl. handle Width: 8 in (20.3 cm) Depth: 6 ¼ in (15.9 cm). * Thomas Tompion (1639–1713) is universally acknowledged as the greatest clockmaker of late 17th and early 18th century England, often styled the ‘Father of English Clockmaking.’ Born the son of a Bedfordshire blacksmith, he set up shop in London by the 1670s and quickly gained a reputation for precision and quality. In 1703 he was elected Master of the Clockmakers’ Company and earlier he had been appointed Clockmaker to the King (first Charles II, then James II and William III).

Tompion pioneered many technical advances- for example, he was among the first English makers to use the newly invented balance spring in pocket watches and the quality

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of his watches and clocks was unsurpassed. It is estimated he made some 550-650 clocks and 5,000 watches in his lifetime, each carefully numbered and signed “Londini Fecit.” His workmanship was admired by contemporaries and successors alike. His illustrious partner and successor George Graham learned the trade with him.

Today his clocks are the most highly sought after English clocks by serious collectors around the world.

Provenance: James Oakes advert Apollo 4/1947.

Exhibited James Oakes’ stand 1948 Antique Dealers Fair.

Antique Dealer and Collectors’ Guide, 6/1948.

Harold Wildsmith Baxter 1959; celebrated prominent collector of early English clocks.

Repaired by Garrard 1962.

Christies London, 14/7/1982 lot 222 on behalf of the Lords Swathling.

Private client in America and was brought back to England in 1988.

Anthony Woodburn advert 1988.

Christies London 2002, lot 93, the property of a private collector.

The Manny Davidson Collection, 2025.

References: Evans Carter Wright, Thomas Tompion 300 Years, 2013, p.159, pp.360-361 Brian Loomes, Clockmakers of Britain, pp.491-492 RW Symonds, Thomas Tompion, His Life and Work, p.151 fig. 127 HW6649

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JOSEPH KNIBB, LONDON An exceptional Charles II period walnut longcase clock by this famous maker.

The latched finned pillar 8-day movement sounds the hours on a single ‘pork pie’ bell and has outside count wheel strike.

The understated 10-inch square brass dial is signed on the dial plate below VI Joseph Knibb London. It has four cherub and foliate corner spandrels, inset date work below XII, pierced and faceted blued steel hands and a finely engraved chapter ring with inside quarter and halfhour markers.

The slender proportioned early case, which retains its original carved shell and foliate cresting, has beautiful matching figured walnut veneers and fine patination.

The rising hood has attached barley twist pillars to the front and rear and a characteristic Knibbish s-scroll sound fret below the cornice moulding. It retains a metal catch within the case to hold the rising hood in a raised position while the movement is wound.

Date: circa 168o Height: 78 in (198 cm) Width: 16 ¾ in (42.5 cm) Depth: 9 in (23 cm) *Joseph Knibb, the most famous member of the celebrated Knibb clockmaking family, was born circa 1640. He was apprenticed to his cousin Samuel in about 1655 and after serving seven years worked first in Oxford and then moved to London in 1670 where he was made free of the Clockmakers’ Company. He must soon have built up a good reputation for himself as it is recorded that he supplied a turret clock to Windsor Castle in 1677 and payments were made to him in 1682 on behalf of King Charles II. Joseph Knibb made many longcase and table clocks for domestic use. He was a particularly inventive maker and experimented with several different types of striking and repeating mechanisms. His clocks have arguably some of the most perfectly proportioned cases of any English clockmaker of the Golden Age. Reference: Dawson, Drover & Parkes, Early English Clocks Ronald A. Lee, The Knibb Family * Clockmakers Brian Loomes, Clockmakers of Britain, p.309 HW6473

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JONATHAN PULLER LONDINI FECIT An exceptional William and Mary period tortoiseshell and silver mounted table clock of rare small proportions by this well-known London maker.

The small rectangular case is veneered with rich tortoiseshell and adorned with finely pierced silver mounts. It is surmounted by a cast silver twin-figural carrying handle on a shallow concave caddy top, which is embellished at the front and rear with pierced foliate scroll frets. The glazed front door has a silk-backed sound fret above the dial, over a pair of ornate silver escutcheons on the front door in the style of Joseph Knibb. The sides are fitted with similar pierced sound frets above rectangular glazed panels, and the glazed rear door is likewise set with a conforming fret. The clock stands on a moulded base with four turned bun feet.

The 6-inch square brass dial features a silvered chapter ring with Roman hours and Arabic five-minute numerals.

The maker’s signature, Jonat. Puller, Londini fecit, is engraved on the lower edge of the chapter ring between V and VII. Twin subsidiary dials for Strike/Silent and for rise-and-fall regulation are set near the top, interspersed with delicate foliate scroll engravings. The finely matted dial centre has a mock pendulum aperture, a date window above VI and winged cherub-head corner spandrels. The time is indicated by a pair of finely pierced blued steel hands.

The clock is equipped with a high-quality twin-fusee movement secured by five latched vase-shaped pillars.

It has a verge escapement with a short spring-suspended pendulum terminating in a lenticular bob. The hour strike is released by a rack-and-snail mechanism sounding on a single bell, and the clock incorporates a quarterrepeat system that chimes the quarters on a nest of six

graduating bells with corresponding brass hammers.

The backplate is finely engraved, featuring an unusual chamfered edge and a wide wheatear border framing symmetrically arranged scrolls and flowerheads. The maker’s signature Jonathan Puller Londini Fecit is set within a cartouche.

Date: circa 1690 Height: 11 ¾ in (30 cm) excluding handle Height: 14 in (36 cm) including handle Width: 9 ½ in (24 cm) Depth: 6 ⅛ in (15.5 cm) Jonathan Puller was born in 1662 and went on to become one of the best London clockmakers of the late 17th century. Apprenticed in 1676 to Nicholas Coxeter and transferred to John Miller in 1679, he became Free of the Clockmakers’ Company in 1683. Puller established his workshop in Red Lion Court off Fleet Street, close to Thomas Tompion’s premises. Over the next two decades he trained eight apprentices and was appointed an Assistant of the Clockmakers’ Company in 1701. He remained active until about 1707, when records of him cease and he is presumed to have died.

This particular clock is illustrated on multiple pages of Early English Clocks, by Percy G Dawson, C.B Drover and D.W Parkes. It is a beautiful example of some of the earliest use of tortoiseshell veneers and silver mounts on a bracket clock case.

Reference: Dawson, Drover & Parkes, Early English Clocks, p.481 pl.584, p.481 col.pl.28, p.463 pl.683-684 HW6662

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THE SUTTON COURT GREAT CHAMBER CLOCK DATED 1672 An exceptionally rare 8-Day Lantern clock with its original painted oak wainscot case, dated 1672, ex. Sutton Court in Somerset.

Distinctive features: Standing over eight feet tall, it is an impressive clock. The eight-day duration required not only an additional wheel in the train, but also enough height for the weight to descend and drive the clock for eight days. The weight required to power the clock is also of note, weighing a considerable 28 pounds.

The case, made of painted wainscot oak, is original.

The unsigned movement itself bears all the typical hallmarks of a lantern clock from nearby Bristol or the Chew Valley. Even without its case, this is a large and impressive lantern clock almost nineteen inches high. Its turned pillars, finials and feet are cast in one piece. It has a large brass hand and a narrow silvered chapter ring.

The design of the dial centre with scrolling flowers and foliage surmounted by a human head is almost identical to the dial on a 17th century lantern clock by the Bristol maker Thomas Browne. The superb movement had at one time been converted to anchor escapement and long pendulum but it has since been put back to verge. The strike train is original.

Total Height: 96 ½ in (245 cm) Height to Lower Cornice: 73 ½ in (186.75 cm) Width of Cornice: 16 in (40.5 cm) Depth of Cornice: 14 in (35.5 cm) Trunk Width: 10 ½ in (26.7 cm) Provenance: Sutton Court, near Chew Magna in Somerset, is probably best known as the sixteenth home of Elizabeth Hardwick, Lady St Loe, known as ‘Bess of Hardwick’.

By the seventeenth century the house was occupied by the Strachey family. John Strachey inherited Sutton Court from his mother in 1672.

The link of the clock to the Strachey family and to Sutton Court is confirmed by a probate inventory of February 1674-5, further to John Strachey’s death. ‘a clock and a case’ in the new parlour ‘valued att £4.

The movement is also inscribed with the date 1672 on the dial plate behind the chapter ring, the same year that John Strachey inherited the property.

In addition to which a silver crest of the Strachey family was once mounted on the door.

The clock was only sold by the Strachey family’s descendants in the 1990s.

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DANIEL QUARE, LONDON A rare Queen Anne period walnut and burr yew wood bracket clock by this famous Royal Clock maker. The fully restored 8-day movement with its verge escapement and rack strike runs for 8 days, sounds the hours on a bell and has a pull repeat mechanism for recalling the last hour and last quarter hour on three bells. The dial has four winged cherub head corner spandrels with an outer wheat ear engraved border and inset date work. The maker’s name, D. Quare, London, is engraved on the silvered chapter ring outside the finely matted centre.

The backplate also bears the maker’s signature, Daniel Quare, London, engraved within a cartouche set below scrolling foliage and four intertwining tulips.

The exceptional walnut and burr yew wood veneered case is in remarkably original condition. It has its original brass foliate carrying handle and gilt brass sound frets. Its small size and shallowness are of particular appeal, as is the rich mellow colour and patination of the burr yew veneers.

Very few burr yew and walnut veneered table clocks with square dial movements by Thomas Tompion or Daniel Quare have survived. This is the first such example by Daniel Quare we have been privileged to handle.

Date: circa 1700-171o Height: 12 ¾ in (33 cm) Width: 10 ½ in (27 cm) Depth: 7 in (17.75 cm) *Daniel Quare is one of the great names from the finest period of English clockmaking and he was a justly worthy contemporary of Thomas Tompion, George Graham, Daniel Delander et al. He was born in Somerset in 1649, he became a Brother of the Clockmakers’ Company in 1671 and went on to serve as Master in 1708.

Quare was living in the parish of St Martin-le-Grand in the mid-1670s but by 1681 was in Allhallows Lombard Street.

By 1686 he had made the important move to the heart of the city – Exchange Alley in the parish of St. Mary Woolnoth, taking over the premises formerly occupied by Robert Segnior. Apart from his highly successful clock business, he is believed to have made large sums of money by speculating cleverly in stocks and funds.

His shop sign was ‘The King’s Arms’ and his neighbours were a vintner and a confectioner.

In about 1701 he took on Stephen Horseman as an apprentice. He became a partner in 1718 and continued the business after Quare’s death in 1724. Daniel Quare’s reputation rests both on the fact that he was a great innovator and on the fine quality of his work. He and Tompion were the first to make some highly important walnut longcase clocks of year duration showing the equation of time and other complications. One of these is now in the Ilbert Collection in the British Museum.

He was also successful in a judgement made by James II in 1688 for a Patent for a repeating watch, his rival being the Rev. Edward Barlow. Among his other inventions was a portable barometer and many superb examples exist in important collections today.

Quare was an arch rival to Thomas Tompion, but as a practising Quaker he would not sign any oaths of allegiance. His Quaker beliefs thus prevented his appointment as Clockmaker to the King. He also often came into conflict with the authorities because of his refusal to pay tithes. Goods to the value of the tithe were then seized from him. Things improved after the Toleration Act of 1689 and he later served on the Parliamentary committee of the Meeting for Suffering.

Despite his Quaker faith, Quare still enjoyed royal patronage and he was a regular visitor at the Royal Palace where he was ‘free of the back stairs’. In 1691/2, he supplied William III with a repeating watch costing £69 17s 6d, and at Hampton Court a fine 10-feet year-going walnut solar/mean-time longcase clock which still stands in King William’s bedroom. He is also known to have supplied a small dual balance or pendulum controlled travelling clock at Windsor and three barometers, two of which are still at Hampton Court.

He had a highly successful business and counted many members of the Nobility and Foreign Ambassadors amongst his clientele.

Towards the end of his life he retired to Croydon where he died, aged 75, on March 21st 1724. He was buried at the Quaker Burial Ground, Bunhill Fields on the 27th of March.

References: Dawson, Drover and Parks, Early English Clocks Richard Garnier, ‘Innovation and Collaboration’ Brian Loomes, Clockmakers of Britain: 1286 – 1700, pp.406-407 CC03

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JOHN WISE, LONDON A fine James II period walnut longcase clock by this early London maker.

The ten inch gilt brass dial has a silvered Roman chapter ring with sword-hilt half-hour markers and an outer minute division, enclosing a finely matted centre with a subsidiary seconds dial below XII and a date aperture above VI. The dial is signed along the lower edge John Wise Londini Fecit and retains its original pierced and faceted steel hands.

The case is veneered in walnut of rich colour and patination, with a rising hood surmounted by a carved cresting centred by a shell, with pierced foliate carving beneath the cornice.

The front of the hood is flanked by barley twist columns, repeated to the rear angles, and there are glazed side apertures. The trunk door is long and slender, with a cross grain walnut moulding. The base is similarly veneered and stands on four turned bun feet.

The eight-day movement has an anchor escapement and strikes the hours on a bell. It retains its original brass weights and pendulum, and survives with pleasing early character throughout. Inside the trunk there is an old paper presentation label which reads: ‘This clock was presented to Colonel Charles Henley by Mrs. Ethel Buchanan in memory of a pleasant time spent with him in exploring some of the ancient buildings in the City of London in the spring of 1907.’

Date: circa 1690 Height: 80 ¼ in (204cm) John Wise (1624–1690) was born in Banbury and apprenticed in 1638 to the lantern clockmaker Peter Closon through the Clockmakers’ Company. He was freed in 1646. He is recorded working first in London, then in Warwick from the 1650s to the later 1660s, before returning to London, where he made some of the most attractive early longcase, bracket and lantern clocks of the period. Examples of his work are in the Royal Collection, while a bracket clock movement by him is in the Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter.

HW6693

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EDWARD STANTON, LONDON A rare Charles II period silver-mounted ebony bracket clock of elegant small size with pull quarter repeat by this important early London maker.

The ebony and silver-mounted wooden case features a cushion-moulded top with elaborate chased repoussé silver mounts and is surmounted by an ornate silver carrying handle along with four small urn silver finials at the corners. The front door has a pierced foliate silver fret and silver escutcheons. The clock stands on four silver claw bun feet, completing the distinctive Carolean period aesthetic.

The 6 ¼-inch square brass dial has a silvered brass chapter ring engraved with Roman hour numerals, Arabic five-minute markers and cruciform half hour markers. All four corners are applied with silver winged cherub head spandrels. The dial centre is finely matted, and the clock retains its original finely pierced blued steel hands. Above XII is a small lever for N/S (non-strike/strike).

The 8-day twin fusee movement is secured by seven robust latched, knopped and ringed pillars. It has a restored verge escapement and an internal rack striking mechanism to sound the hours on a single bell. In addition, the movement features a pull quarter-repeat mechanism via a chord that sounds the quarter hours on a set of three bells. The rectangular backplate is fully engraved with tulips and foliage and is signed by the maker Edward Stanton, London within an elaborate foliate cartouche.

There is a label attached to the back door stating that this clock was N° 125 in the catalogue of the British Clockmakers Heritage Exhibition in 1952.

Date: circa 1685 Height: 12 in (30.5 cm) excluding handle Width: 9 ½ in (24 cm) Depth: 6 ¼ in (15.5 cm)

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*Edward Stanton was one of the most prominent London clockmakers who was active from the 1660s until around 1715. Born c. 1640, he was apprenticed to Francis Bowen in 1655 and later transferred to Nathaniel Allen, both of whom were associated with the Bowyer workshop.

He was made free of the Clockmakers’ Company in January 1662/3 and went on to train a substantial number of apprentices, including William Cattell, Stephen Wilmott, and Alexander Reid, many of whom became notable makers in their own right.

Stanton worked from Leadenhall Street, and some of his earliest clocks are signed with that address. His later work, more commonly signed simply ‘London’, reflects a confident output of lantern, longcase, and table clocks to a very high standard. He was also an engraver- a skill that appears in the finely detailed backplates of his movements, and in 1673/4 he was controversially accused of illegally engraving the name of Robert Seignor on a clock by Henry Jones!

He was appointed Master of the Clockmakers’ Company in 1697 after many years as Assistant and Warden. A subscriber to the founding of the Bank of England in 1694 and a likely nonconformist, Stanton was deeply embedded in both the civic and technical life of late 17th-century horological London. His clock movements are characterised by latched plates, elaborate engraving, early use of quarter repeat and internal rack striking, and high-quality clockwork which is very similar to that of Joseph Knibb.

Provenance: The Manny Davidson Collection, 2025 References: Brian Loomes, Clockmakers of Britain, 1286-1700, p.454 Sunny Dzik, Roger Still, Beneath the Dial, p.243-245 HW6651

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JOHN HOWARD, CHELSEA BY THE HORSE FERRY A very rare grand George II period black and gilt chinoiserie tavern clock with early shield-shaped dial and weight-driven movement by this little known Chelsea maker.

The case is of classic early tavern-clock form in black lacquer, richly heightened with gilt chinoiserie. It has a break-arch moulded door to the upper section, the arch and quarter quadrants picked out with gilt hatching and scrollwork. Within the panel there is a finely painted garden scene of oriental figures at a table, surrounded by cherry blossom, birds in flight and a small dancing dog to the lower right, all enclosed by a shallow gilt line border and centred on a chased brass door escutcheon.

A particularly rare feature is the double scrolling ears to each side, decorated with gilt floral sprays and small nesting birds, leading down to the shaped lower section and moulded base, which carries matching gilt foliate ornament. The whole has great depth of colour and an honest patina consistent with its age.

The large shield-shaped wooden dial, approximately 31 ½ x 36 inches, is painted black with gilt chinoiserie ornament to the border and lower panel. It has a bold circular chapter ring with Roman hour numerals and large Arabic five-minute figures within a double gilt minute band, the outer ring embellished with single leaf motifs at the minute divisions. It has bold pierced brass hands, while the lower portion of the dial is framed by

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leaf-scroll spandrels and carries the maker’s name in a flowing two-line signature John Howard Chelsea by the Horse Ferry.

The plated 8-day movement is of early rectangular form, united by four baluster pillars pinned at the front plate. It has an anchor escapement with a steel strip pendulum rod and lead-filled brass bob, driven by a single oval brass-cased lead weight.

Date: circa 1735 Height: 61 ½ in (156 cm) *We know surprisingly little about John Howard who made this extraordinary early tavern clock. His exotic address ‘by the Horse Ferry’ and his work are not previously recorded to our knowledge. He was the brother of the Quaker clockmaker and gardener Edmund Howard (1710 – 1788) who kept a remarkable diary of his life at the time and the untimely death of John ‘of a fever’ in 1742. Edmund records having to take over John’s business, shop and work tools somewhat reluctantly after that.

References: Antiquarian Horology Journal N° 4, Vol 38, September 2017, James Nye, Edmund Howard (1770 – 1798) A Quaker Clockmaker in Chelsea.

HW6610

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J. WINDMILLS, LONDON A fine William III marquetry longcase clock with 8-day brass dial hour-striking movement.

The elegant walnut veneered case is richly inlaid with flower and bird marquetry in sycamore, tulipwood and ebony, with panels to the trunk door and base. The flat-top hood is flanked by boldly turned barley-twist columns, with a pierced walnut sound fret and an overhanging cross-grain moulded cornice. The trunk door has an oval lenticle with brass bezel, above a marquetry base panel and bun feet.

The 11-inch brass dial is engraved to the matted centre and fitted with a silvered chapter ring displaying Roman hours and Arabic minutes, with finely wrought steel hands, subsidiary seconds dial, and ringed date aperture above VI. Cherub’s head foliate spandrels decorate the four corners of the dial which is signed J. Windmills, London on the Roman chapter ring.

The substantial 8-day movement has six finned pillars and an anchor escapement, with inside count wheel strike on a bell. The brass-cased weights and pendulum with lenticular bob appear to be original.

Date: circa 1695 Height: 78 ½ in (199.5 cm) Width: 18 ½ in (47 cm) Depth: 10 ⅛ in (25.7 cm) * Joseph Windmills was made a Free Brother in the Clockmakers’ Company in September 1671. He was a prolific maker with large workshops and he had numerous apprentices after 1687 in Tower Street. He was appointed Warden of the Clockmakers’ Company in 1699 and became Master in 1702. By 1714 he had gone into partnership with his son Thomas.

References: B. Loomes, Clockmakers of Britain: 1286 – 1700, pp.529-530 B. Loomes, Clockmakers of the World: 21st Century Edition, p.849 J.A. Neale, Joseph and Thomas Windmills, p.49 pl.2.17 HW6471

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JAMES II PERIOD MARQUETRY LONGCASE CLOCK A fine James II period 10 inch brass dial panelled marquetry longcase clock.

The elegant early case is constructed of oak and pine and veneered in walnut with ebonised and walnut mouldings.

There are inset panels of floral and foliate marquetry to the trunk and base, centred by birds perched on branches.

The hood has a flat-top cornice with an ebonised cushion moulding above a boldly carved frieze of scrolling acanthus and floral decoration and it is flanked by a pair of well-carved ebonised barley-twist columns with gilded capitals and bases.

The pendulum is visible through the circular lenticle with brass bezel.

The 10-inch square brass dial has a finely matted centre with a subsidiary seconds ring below XII and a square calendar aperture above VI. It is mounted with a silvered brass chapter ring with bold Roman hour numerals, Arabic five-minute markers and decorative fleur-de-lys half-hour indicators.

There are four boldly cast cherub head foliate spandrels to each corner. The clock retains its finely pierced and shaped steel hands.

The substantial high-quality movement is of 8-day duration, has six knopped pillars and hour strike via an outside count wheel. The clock is complete with its flat topped brass cased weights and lenticular brass pendulum bob.

Date: circa 1685 Height: 79 in (201 cm) Width: 15 ¼ in (38.8 cm) Depth: 9 ½ in (24.1 cm) *This elegant small longcase is very rare in remaining so untouched after more than 330 years. The walnut and marquetry decorated case is a very mellow muted colour having never been repolished and it thus has beautiful patination.

HW6643

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DANIEL QUARE NO 93, LONDON A very rare George I period ebony miniature striking and quarter-repeating bracket clock by this preeminent maker.

The diminutive inverted bell top case is veneered in ebony and surmounted by a finely cast gilt-brass knopped carrying handle. The glazed break-arch side panels reveal the movement, while the moulded base rests on four shallow wooden block feet.

The 4-by-6-inch break-arch, gilt-brass dial is signed Dan: Quare London in a polished oval cartouche within the finely matted centre, which also incorporates a dummy pendulum aperture. The silvered chapter ring has Roman hour numerals, fleur-de-lys half-hour markers, and lozenge half-quarter divisions. It retains its finely pierced blued steel hands. The arch is set with a large diameter silvered calendar ring, flanked by subsidiary dials for rise/fall pendulum regulation and strike/silent. They are all set within a finely engraved dial plate decorated with doves, trailing foliage and giltbrass female mask spandrels with foliate sprays.

The 8-day movement has substantial rectangular plates secured by five front-pinned, ringed pillars.

It is powered by twin chain fusees, the going train with restored verge escapement, and the pendulum is suspended on a spring from a rise-and-fall bar with cam adjustment. The rack-striking train sounds on a bell mounted above the plates on one side and there is a separate quarter-repeating bell on the other. The finely engraved backplate is signed Dan: Quare London, No.93 within an oval cartouche, framed by bees and birds amidst scrolling foliage, surmounted by a winged cherub head. The engraving was almost certainly the work of Graver 515.

Date: circa 1711 Height: 13 in (33cm) incl. handle Height: 11 ¼ in (29 cm) excl. handle Width: 6 ¾ in (17.1cm) Depth: 5 ¼ in (13.3cm) Daniel Quare (c.1648–1724) made very few miniature table clocks with full striking and quarterrepeating movements. As a consequence they are exceedingly rare and highly sought after today. The only other almost identical miniature spring clock by him which we have owned was signed Dan: Quare London, No.58.

References: Cescinsky and Webster, English Domestic Clocks, p.282 figs.304305, pp. 287-288 Garnier and Carter, The Golden Age of English Horology, pp.

260-331 HW6622

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JOHN ELLICOTT, LONDON NO 453 An exceptional George III period dark green lacquer chinoiserie brass dial quarter-chiming longcase clock by this famous London clockmaker.

The dark green and gilt chinoiserie case has a stepped caddy-top with whale’s tails surmounted by a central brass flambeau finial and one to each side. There is a glazed hood door and a slender trunk, with the surfaces intricately japanned throughout with raised gilt figural and landscape scenes, including village vignettes and animals. The raised panelled base has a stepped double plinth and is also profusely decorated with gilt chinoiserie motifs.

The 12-inch break-arch brass dial has ornate gilt foliate spandrels with chalices in each corner, and a brass chapter ring with fine matting on the dial centre. It has Roman hour numerals, Arabic five-minute markers, an outer minute track and fleur-de-lys half-hour indicators.

The maker’s signature John Ellicott, London, is signed below the centre on a polished brass cartouche.

There is a subsidiary seconds dial and an inset calendar aperture above VI. The arch at the top is fitted with a strike/silent dial. The steel hands are finely pierced and blued.

The numbered three-train movement has six knopped pillars and an original anchor escapement, regulated by a long pendulum with a large lenticular brass bob. The clock chimes the quarters on a nest of four bells via six hammers, and strikes the hours on a larger bell. The rear plate of the movement is stamped No. 453 along its bottom edge.

Date: circa 1750 Height: 110 ¼ in (280 cm) to top of finial * John Ellicott was born in 1706 and established his business in Swithin’s Alley, Royal Exchange in 1728. He was the inventor of a gridiron compensation pendulum and he developed the use of the cylinder escapement in watches. Like his peer George Graham, he became a member of the Royal Society, for which he wrote several papers. He was appointed Clockmaker to the King and he designed the London Hospital clock. He died suddenly in 1772 and was succeeded by his son. His work can be found in Museums and Royal Collections throughout the world.

References: Geoffrey Buggins, Antiquarian Horology IV (December 1964) p.275 Cescinsky, Webster, English Domestic Clocks, p.194-196 Cedric Jagger, Royal Clocks, The British Monarchy & its Timekeepers pp.99-101 HW6640

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GEORGE GRAHAM, LONDON, NO 698 A rare Phase 3 ebony and silver travelling spring timepiece with alarm by this famous clockmaker, successor to Thomas Tompion.

The small case of ebony veneered onto an oak carcass has an inverted bell top, arched glazed side panels within moulded frames, a front door with gilt-brass Satyr mask fret to the upper rail and conforming Satyr mask mount to the lower rail. It also has typical Graham style bellflower door escutcheons to the stiles and the case stands on four moulded block feet.

The beautiful 5-by-6-inch brass dial has double-screwed silver cherub’s head spandrels to the silvered chapter-ring.

The alarm-set square is inset in the chapter ring at VI with an arched alarm aperture to the matted centre above. There are two subsidiary dials for rise/fall pendulum regulation and alarm/silent above, flanking the maker’s signature Geo: Graham London. The regulator-type blued-steel hands are very finely tapered and most unusual.

The substantial posted framed 8-day duration movement has solid front and backplates, chamfered tear-drop cusped cocks throughout as on a Tompion movement and a single chain fusee. It has a pivoted verge escapement and springsuspended lenticular pendulum, a rise-and-fall lever with pinion adjustment through the dial, going barrel for alarm on a bell, set through the chapter-ring at VI and is pullwound from the side. The movement which is punchnumbered 698 to the top plate, is raised on a seatboard and secured with two bolts.

Date: circa 1731 Height: 12 ½ in (31.5 cm) Width: 8 in (20.25 cm) Depth: 5 ¼ in (13.25 cm) *George Graham was born circa 1673 in Westmoreland, and travelled to London to serve his apprenticeship with Henry Aske. In 1695 he joined Thomas Tompion as a journeyman and in 1704 he married Tompion’s niece, Elizabeth. Soon after this he became Tompion’s business partner until the latter’s death in 1713, whereupon he inherited the whole business. He was a great inventor and is credited with the dead beat escapement, mercury pendulum and cylinder escapement for watches. He was the first clockmaker to be appointed a member of the Royal Society and is known to have made little more than two hundred clocks during his lifetime. A great proportion of these were bracket and longcase clocks. He was known as “honest George Graham” and he gave much horological and financial support to John Harrison during his years of struggle to build a reliable marine timekeeper. When Graham died in 1751 he was buried in the same tomb as Thomas Tompion in Westminster Abbey.

For similar cases by George Graham without handles and moulded tops see P.G. Dawson, The Iden Clock Collection, Woodbridge 1987, p.188 & p.192.

Provenance: RA Lee purchased 1953 from ‘Hunt’ Private collection USA Christies 27 May 2010, lot 24 Tom Scott Collection p.166 Sir Colin Corness Collection 2025 CC02

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ROBERT PLAYER, LONDON A very elegant and beautifully patinated George II period walnut table clock by this London maker.

The 8-day movement, which strikes the hours on a single bell, has a restored verge escapement and short bob pendulum. There is a subsidiary dial in the arch for strike/silent. The maker’s signature Robert Player LONDON is engraved on the chapter ring between V and VII. The dial has gilt mask head and foliate corner spandrels and a Roman chapter ring with Arabic outer minutes. The date indicator is inset above VI and there is a crescent shaped aperture for the false pendulum within the finely matted dial centre. The elaborate backplate is engraved with a wheatear border, flower and foliate scrolls and the maker’s signature.

The elegant case is constructed primarily in oak and veneered with highly figured walnut. It has an elaborate inverted bell top with a knopped brass carrying handle and foliate urn finials.

Date: circa 1740 Height: 18 ¼ in (44.25 cm) excluding handle Width: 10 ½ in (26.7 cm) Depth: 7 ¼ in (18.5 cm) * Robert Player was both a clockmaker and clock case maker who is recorded as working in London between 1700 and 1742. Walnut table clocks of such elegance and with great patina are increasingly rare.

HW5168

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DANIEL VAUGUION, LONDON A fine George III period mahogany brass dial hour-striking bracket clock of great simplicity and elegance.

The moulded and veneered case has a well figured and patinated surface and the arched top has three raised edged panels with a central brass carrying handle.

The break-arch brass dial is mounted with a silvered chapter ring with two subsidiary rings in the arch for strike/silent and rise-and-fall regulation which flank an inset silvered brass cartouche signed by the maker Dan.l Vauguion. The finely matted dial centre has an aperture to view the day of the month above VI. The good quality 8-day movement has a spring suspended verge escapement and strikes the hours on a single bell. The backplate, springs and case fixing brackets are beautifully engraved with interlacing foliate scrolls.

Date: circa 1770 -1780 Height: 15 in (38 cm) Width: 9 ¼ in (23.5 cm) Depth: 6 ½ in (16.5 cm) * Daniel Vauguion was working in St James’s, Westminster in the third quarter of the 18th century and was probably of French origin. This is the second such small elegant mahogany bracket clock we have handled by him.

References: B.Loomes, Watchmakers and Clockmakers of the World: Complete 21st Century Edition, p.795 Howard Walwyn Fine Antique Clocks, Catalogue 04, p.55 HW6476

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THOMASON FITTER, LONDON An impressive George III period brass dial hour-striking red and gilt chinoiserie lacquer longcase clock by this London maker.

The case is finished in well-preserved red lacquer, extensively embellished with gilt foliate scrolls, diaper borders and line-work throughout. The hood has a pagoda top incorporating a carved wooden gilt fret, flanked by two giltwood ball finials, and fronted by a glazed door with columns on either side and gilt brass capitals and bases.

The break arch trunk door is decorated with two painted panels, the upper portraying a scene of a fortune teller and pickpocket and the lower a classical pastoral scene with livestock and a seated shepherd in the foreground.

The base is further enriched with a larger painted chinoiserie-style scene featuring architecture and figures within a landscape.

The break-arch dial has a raised silvered brass chapter ring engraved with Roman hours and an outer minute track with Arabic five-minute markers. The finely matted centre features a subsidiary seconds dial below XII and a calendar aperture above VI, while the arch contains the strike/silent lever. The maker’s signature Tho:son Fitter, London, is engraved on a raised silvered cartouche to the lower centre. The clock retains its finely pierced steel hands.

The substantial 8-day movement has an anchor escapement which is regulated by a long steel rod pendulum with brass lenticular shaped bob, powered by two brass dome topped weights. It has five knopped pillars and strikes the hours on a bell.

Date: circa 1760 - 1780 Height: 98 ½ in (250 cm) Width: 20 ⅞ in (53 cm) Depth: 9 ⅛ in (23 cm) *Thomason Fitter is recorded as working in London in the third quarter of the 18th century and is listed on page 269 of Brian Loomes’ Watchmakers and Clockmakers of the World.

HW6410

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HENRY YOUNGE IN THE STRAND A fine James II period striking ebony veneered table clock of rare small size by this highly respected maker.

The 8-day movement, which sounds the hours from a rack on a single bell, has five finned baluster pillars, a restored knife edge verge escapement and a pear shaped bob pendulum. The 6-inch square dial has four winged cherub head corner spandrels and a chapter ring with fleur-de-lys half-hour markers. There is an inset date aperture above VI in the matted centre.

The elaborate early backplate is engraved with Dutch tulip flowers amidst foliate scrolls within a scribe line border. The beautiful maker’s signature Henry Younge in the Strand is inscribed just below the centre in a scroll cartouche.

The small elegant case is veneered with ebony onto an oak carcass. It has a shallow gilt repoussé brass basket-top with its original carrying handle and four foliate finials. It stands on four cast brass bun feet.

Date: circa 1685-1690 Height: 12 ½ in (32.5 cm) excluding handle Width: 9 ½ in (24 cm) Depth: 6 ¾ in (17 cm) * Henry Younge was apprenticed in July 1659 to Thomas Taylor of the Strand and was made free of The Clockmakers Company in April 1672. His workshop was also near “the Wine House in the Strand” where he had a number of apprentices.

He was a very fine early clockmaker whose work often has a number of distinctive features including the very early use of innovative rack-striking in his table clocks.

References: Loomes, Brian,. The Early Clockmakers of Great Britain. pp 541.

Loomes, Brian,. Watchmakers and Clockmakers of the World: 21st Century Edition. p. 866.

HW6502

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JOHN COTTON, LONDON A good William III period ebony and gilt mounted hour striking bracket clock.

The 7-inch square dial is mounted with a silvered chapter ring and winged cherub spandrels to the four corners. The dial centre is matted with a chamfered and engraved date aperture above VI and it has finely pierced and faceted blued steel hands. There is a strike/silent lever

by III and an opening between X and II for the dummy pendulum.

The verge movement with knife-edge bob pendulum runs for 8 days and strikes the hours on a bell. There is also pull repeat-work for sounding the hours and quarters on 2 bells. The backplate which has a wheatear outer border is exquisitely engraved with scrolling foliage and bears the maker’s signature John Cotton London inside a central cartouche below the elaborately pierced and engraved raised back cock.

The oak case, which is veneered with ebony, stands only 12 ¾ inches tall on four brass bun feet. It has a shallow dome top which is surmounted by a double S-scroll carrying handle and it has four gilt cast brass ball finials to each corner.

Date: circa 1695 Height: 12 ¾ in (32.5 cm) Width: 10 ¼ in (26 cm) Depth: 6 ⅜ in (16 cm) * John Cotton is recorded on page 176 of Brian Loomes’ Clockmakers of Britain 1286-1700 as being apprenticed in London in 1683 and a member of the Clockmakers Company from 1695-1697.

HW6019

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THOMAS SMOULT, NEWCASTLE A charming George III period Tavern Timepiece in a very well-preserved black and gilt chinoiserie lacquered case. The decoration to the trunk door is of two oriental figures chatting on steps in front of various pavilions and trees below two stylised birds. The trunk sides are filled with chrysanthemum sprays set within gilt lines.

It retains its original gilt foliate decorated swan neck earpieces at the top of the trunk.

The black round convex dial has a moulded turned surround. It has gilt Roman numerals, single dots for the minutes circle and Arabic outside five minute markers.

The unusual steel hands are well pierced and almost certainly original. The weight driven 8-day movement has A-shaped plates, a five wheel train with anchor escapement and a steel pendulum rod with brass faced bob and old oblong lead weight.

Date: circa 1785 Overall length: 54 in (137 cm) Dial diameter: 24 in (61 cm) * Thomas Smoult is recorded as working in Newcastle upon Tyne and retiring in 1791. He was a member of a long family of clockmakers working in Lancaster and Newcastle in the late Georgian period. In more recent times the clock is reputed to have hung in Denham College, Oxford.

HW6386

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THOMAS GRIGNION, COVENT GARDEN, LONDON A fine George III period chinoiserie-decorated hour striking tavern clock by this well regarded London clockmaker.

The case has a tear-drop trunk with carved foliate ears beneath the dial surround, the whole finished in black lacquer and heightened with gilt decoration. The trunk is framed with double gilt outlines and scattered gilt sprigs, centred by a chinoiserie scene with figures in a landscape of pavilions and pagoda-like buildings, with birds in flight above. There is a full length tear-drop shaped door to the centre of the trunk and the base is finished with a moulded foot and further gilt ornamentation.

The 22-inch painted wooden white dial is laid out with Roman numerals for the hours and an outer Arabic minute ring marked at the five-minute intervals. The signature is painted above the trunk door and below the dial and reads Thomas Grignion Covent Garden. The dial retains its wooden bezel with gilt borders and matching hands with pierced brass shaped tips. There are two winding apertures to the lower half for the going and striking trains.

The 8-day plated movement is arranged for both timekeeping and striking, a rare feature on a Tavern clock.

The going train is regulated by an anchor escapement and strikes the hours on a bell via a rack.

Date: circa 1750-1760 Dial diameter: 22 in (56 cm) Height: 57 in (145 cm) * Thomas Grignion (born 1713, died 1784) is recorded as a London clock and watchmaker working from the Covent Garden district, and is also associated with developments in precision watchmaking in the mid-18th century. A 1760 submission by Grignion to the Society of Arts is documented, showing him operating at a level beyond routine trade work.

Grignion’s timekeepers appear in contemporary scientific circles: Nevil Maskelyne’s papers include chronometer comparisons involving a “Thomas Grignion” timekeeper alongside Arnold and Kendall, underscoring his presence in serious horological circles of the period.

The British Museum cites the Grignions as ‘finishers to ye late Mr Quare’ and further examples are even signed ‘Daniel and Thomas Grignion, from the late Mr Quare, London,’ praise indeed.

Reference: Brian Loomes, Clockmakers of Britain 1286 – 1700, p.230-231 Martin Gatto, The Tavern Clock, p.130 Martin Gatto, The Tavernicus Tavern Clock Archive, p.117 JW01

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JOHN HOLMES, LONDON A classically elegant George III period mahogany longcase clock with hour strike and strike/silent by this highly respected London clockmaker.

The well-proportioned case is veneered in richly figured mahogany, with a moulded break-arch hood and reeded columns to the front.

The long trunk door has a finely shaped arch panel, with flamefigured veneers framed by shallow mouldings. The original base is of generous depth and is raised on a double-stepped base.

The 12-inch brass dial has a raised silvered chapter ring with Roman hours and Arabic five-minute markers, around a matted brass centre with subsidiary seconds and a chamfered date aperture above VI. The strike/silent dial is set in the arch within finely cast gilt brass spandrels of rococo form. The original blued steel hands are finely pierced. The maker has inscribed his signature Holmes, London on a raised silvered cartouche in the lower half of the dial.

The substantial 8-day movement with anchor escapement has rack-striking on a bell with a wood rod pendulum and large brass bob. It retains its original dome topped lead filled brass weights.

Date: circa 1775 Height: 90 in (229 cm) Width of base: 19 in (48.25 cm) *John Holmes (1727-1797) was apprenticed to Henry Hindley of York and later worked in London, where he collaborated with John Smeaton and carried out commissions for Thomas Mudge and the Dutton family. An innovative maker, he served on the 1792 Parliamentary Committee on marine timekeepers. His business continued with other members of his family until its closure in 1816.

He is listed on page 386 of Brian Loomes’ Watchmakers and Clockmakers of the World, 21st Century Edition (NAG Press, 2006).

HW6248

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JOHN DAVIDGE, LONDON A fine late George III period brass-mounted mahogany bell top table clock of 8 day duration with hour strike on a bell.

The flame mahogany bell top case is of exceptional colour and patination and is surmounted by a brass handle with four finely cast brass urn finials, with an applied brass swag mount across the arched pediment. The front and sides have pierced and engraved gilt-brass sound frets, flanked by brass caryatid and foliate mounts to the front door. The base is of moulded brass and stands on four raised ogee cast brass bracket feet.

The 6 ¾-inch silvered brass dial is finely engraved with Roman and Arabic numerals, the centre finely engraved with a central urn and foliage, surrounding a date aperture above VI. The strike/silent selection dial is set within the arch. The clock retains its original pierced steel serpentine hands and the maker’s name, John Davidge, London is signed in the foliate engraved centre below XII. The five-pillar double chain fusee movement has a restored verge escapement, and is beautifully engraved to the backplate with scrolling foliage and a classical urn.

It strikes the hours and repeats on a bell via a pull chord.

Date: circa 1790-1805 Height: 19 in (48.25 cm) excl. handle Height: 21 ½ in (54.6 cm) incl. handle Width: 12 ½ in (31.75 cm) Depth: 8 ¼ in (21 cm) John Davidge was active in London between 1802 and 1804, although it is probable his working period extended beyond these dates. He is featured on page 197 of Brian Loomes, Watchmakers and Clockmakers of the World, 21st Century Edition (NAG Press, 2006) HW6613

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JOHN PURDEN, LONDON A fine and rare George I period ebonised and gilt-brass moulded three train quarter chiming moon phase bracket clock by this London maker.

The inverted bell top case is veneered in ebonised fruitwood and crisply mounted in gilt brass, with a pierced foliate frieze, bold fillet mouldings and a hinged carrying handle between four brass urn finials. The front has an arched glazed aperture and fine pierced quadrant frets backed in green silk, while the sides are also set with conforming gilt sound frets. The upper friezes are engraved with scallopcentred foliate scrolls and the larger break-arch panels below depict paired eagles and baskets of flowers. The rear door is framed with a small arched glazed aperture and matching frets. The brass-bound skirt base stands on four brass moulded feet. A later bespoke wall bracket with moulded shelf and shaped ogee support accompanies the clock.

The 4 ⅝-inch silver-mounted gilt-brass break-arch dial has a finely matted centre with turned ferrules to the winding squares and a silvered dummy pendulum aperture that is signed by the maker Jn’o Purden, London. The silvered Roman chapter ring has fleur-de-lys half-hour and Arabic five-minute markers. The blued steel scroll-pierced steel hands appear to be original. There are four rosette-centred subsidiary dials to each corner for regulation, Strike/ Silent, day of the week and date, set within an applied cast silver leafy scroll infill. In the arch, a rolling moon phase disc is engraved with lunar indications and numerals, framed by applied silver lunettes and a laurel border.

The intricate eight-pillar triple-fusee movement has a restored pivoted verge escapement regulated by a small lenticular pendulum bob. The quarters are sounded on a graduated nest of six bells and the hours on a separate larger bell, with pull quarter-repeat. The front plate is engraved ‘IP’ for John Purden in the right hand corner, a signature seen on a number of his clocks. The superbly engraved backplate depicts a figure of Victory above a martial trophy within symmetrical foliate strapwork, flanked by winged, trumpeting cherubs and enclosed by a herringbone border.

Date: circa 1725 Height: 15 in (38 cm) excluding handle Width: 8 in (20.5 cm) Depth: 6 ¾ in (17 cm) On bracket Height: 22 ½ in (57 cm) Width: 9 in (23 cm) Depth: 7 ½ in (19 cm) *John Purden is first recorded as a clockmaker circa 1725 and is known to have worked on Dean Street, Soho, from about the 1750s, with an earlier surname reference at St Martin’s Court (1743, from a watch hallmark).

Surviving records are thin and there is no clear evidence of Clockmakers’ Company freedom, which accords with his likely role as a specialist movement-maker working for retailers and for the Huguenot circle active in Soho. His signed work is rare and of conspicuously high Huguenot quality: compact triple-fusee table clocks and miniatures with densely packed trains, quarter-repeat on nests of bells, multiple subsidiary dials including rise/fall, strike/ silent, calendar and moonphase. Purden’s authorship is often confirmed by the I.P. engraving on the front plate (the contemporary ‘I’ for ‘J’), while some dials are fully signed Jn’o Purden, London. Scholarship also records a collaboration with the Rotterdam mechanician Steven Hoogendijk, reinforcing his reputation as a sought-after supplier of small complex movements.

References: Sunny Dzik, Beneath the Dial, p. 452 Brian Loomes, Watchmakers and Clockmakers of the World, p. 632 HW6633

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RIVERS & SON, CORNHILL, LONDON A charming 8-day hour-striking George III period figured mahogany table clock of rare small size.

The well-patinated flame mahogany case is of bell-top form, surmounted by a hinged brass carrying handle over double cavetto mouldings. The base has a cavetto-moulded skirt that rests on four moulded bracket feet. The break-arch front door is framed by raised mouldings and pierced upper quadrant sound frets. The rear of the case is fitted with a rectangular break-arch glazed door, while the carved wooden side frets also share the break arch shape, backed with red silk.

The 5-inch break-arch brass dial has a silvered brass chapter ring with Roman hour numerals and Arabic five-minute markers outside the minute track. The centre is finely scroll-engraved and silvered, signed by the makers Rivers & Son, Cornhill, LONDON within an oval lambrequin with falling drapes to each side. Gilt-brass Indian-masks and scrolling spandrels adorn each corner of the chapter ring. The arch has a silvered Strike/Silent subsidiary dial within conforming gilt-brass foliate mounts and the delicate, finely pierced blued-steel hands appear to be original.

The 8-day movement has five knopped pillars and twin fusees, the going train with verge escapement regulated by a pear-shaped pendulum bob. The clock strikes the hours on a bell and has triphour pull-repeat. The backplate is engraved with a central urn amid symmetrical foliate scrolls and rosettes.

Date: circa 1800 Height: 13 ½ in (34 cm) handle down Width: 8 in (20 cm) Depth: 5 ½ in (14 cm) * The firm of Rivers & Son traded in the City at Cornhill, most often recorded at No. 38 from about 1782 until 1815, styling themselves ‘Rivers & Son, Cornhill, London, successors to Daniel de St. Leu (Watchmaker to Her Majesty).’

This succession, frequently quoted on their dials, followed De St. Leu’s move to Cornhill and conferred immediate prestige and Royal association on the Rivers workshop. Their engraving style is often compared to that of Allam & Clements and John Ellicott Jr, both highly regarded leading makers of the period. Period references list the firm as active at Cornhill until 1815. The business was briefly continued by a son William Rivers at Cornhill until his death in 1820.

Rivers & Son are listed on page 657 of Brian Loomes’ Watchmakers and Clockmakers of the World: Complete 21st Century Edition.

Miniature striking table clocks such as this are increasingly rare and thus highly prized by collectors.

HW6632

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R. FLETCHER, CHESTER A very elegant late George III period mahogany tavern timepiece by this Chester maker.

The 18-inch flat white painted iron dial is set behind a glass door with a turned and fluted wood surround. The pierced blued steel hands appear to be original, the delicate minute hand terminating in a demi-lune counterpoise.

The weight-driven brass plated 8-Day timepiece movement with anchor escapement runs for a week.

The richly patinated case has a fulllength trunk door in highly figured mahogany and turned fluted wood surround to secure the hood door.

This clock is unusual in a number of ways. Firstly, it is a very early example of an iron painted white dial tavern clock.

Secondly, it is quite rare for mahogany tavern clocks to have a glazed door to protect the dial and hands, both of which have survived beautifully intact in this piece.

Date: circa 1810 Height: 41 in (104 cm) Width: 21 ½ in (54.5 cm) Depth: 8 ⅜ in (21.25 cm) * Robert Fletcher is listed on page 270 of Brian Loomes’ Clockmakers of the World: 21st Century Edition as being born in the city of Chester in 1755 and dying in 1841. He also worked as a Goldsmith.

HW5881

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JOHN MAY, SOUTHAMPTON A fine late George III period gilt Chinoiserie tavern clock in very original condition.

The case is of classic tavern-clock form, with a broad circular white dial and full opening door above a long moulded drop trunk. It is finished in a deep black japanned ground, richly heightened with gilt work throughout. There is a bold gilt maker’s signature panel beneath the dial signed MAY, Southampton, flanked by shaped gilt scroll ears at the shoulders. The full length trunk door is decorated with a finely composed Chinoiserie scene with figures amongst pavilions and a stylised landscape. They are framed by gilt wheat-ear border lines and narrow floral sprigs to the sides. The ogee shaped base has additional gilt foliate and line decoration and the sides to the trunk are ornamented with gilt chrysanthemums.

The 18-inch white painted dial has its original craquelure surface with Roman hour numerals and an outer minute ring with Arabic five-minute markers. The original brass hands are finely pierced and suited to the tavern form, and the whole sits behind a glazed painted and turned wooden bezel, a very rare feature.

The 8-day duration timepiece movement has A-shaped plates and an anchor escapement and is regulated by a long pendulum with a lenticular brass bob. It retains its original oval lead weight.

Date: circa 1775 Height: 54 ½ in (138.5 cm) Width: 23 in (58.4 cm) * Tavern Clocks signed ‘May, Southampton’ are distinctly uncommon and the present example is a very appealing provincial counterpart to the London-signed tavern clocks of the period, combining a strong, architectural silhouette with particularly decorative japanned work in original condition.

John May is listed on page 521 of Brian Loomes’ Watchmakers and Clockmakers of the World: Complete 21st Century Edition.

He is said to have worked in Southampton from 1773 until his death in 1791.

HW6578

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50

JOSEPH LUM, LONDON A rare and highly decorative George III period English red japanned automaton table clock.

The case is of elegant inverted bell-top form, surmounted by a brass carrying handle and set with four pineapple finials above a moulded cornice. It stands on a moulded base with four wooden block feet. The circular and shaped side apertures have finely pierced wooden frets, and the whole is richly japanned in red and gilt decoration with chinoiserie panels of figures and landscapes against a latticework ground with silvered borders.

The 8-inch break-arch silvered dial has an engraved Roman and Arabic chapter ring, with subsidiary dials for Rise/Fall and Strike/Silent. The centre is signed Joseph Lum, London and there is a date aperture above VI. The painted arch shows a couple on a see-saw before a building and a windmill. As the clock ticks, the see-saw moves with the pendulum. On the hour, or when the trip repeat is activated, the door to the building opens to reveal the figure of a man, while the sails of the windmill rotate for the duration of the strike.

The twin-fusee movement has five knopped pillars, verge escapement, and rack-striking on a bell. There is a trip repeat, allowing the automaton display to be set in motion on demand. The backplate is engraved with a basket of flowers within foliate scrolls and chinoiserieinspired trelliswork, a decorative treatment entirely in keeping with the japanned case.

Date: circa 1760 - 1765 Height: 20 ½ in (52 cm) Joseph Lum is recorded on page 496 of Brian Loomes’ Watchmakers and Clockmakers of the World: Complete 21st Century Edition as working in London from 1745 until 1770.

HW6280

51

BARRAUD, CORNHILL, LONDON, NO 1555 A rare and historically interesting rosewood 8-day marine chronometer by this eminent London maker to the Royal Navy.

The silvered brass dial is engraved with Roman numerals and signed Barraud, Maker to the Royal Navy, 41 Cornhill, London and numbered 1555. There is a subsidiary seconds dial below XII and Barraud’s typical inset power reserve below the centre. The dial also has two gilt brass applied crests. One shows the Royal Coat of Arms and the other the fouled anchor for the British Admiralty.

It also retains its original tapered white gold spade hands.

The high-quality 8-day chain fusee movement has Harrison’s maintaining power, an Earnshaw-type spring detent escapement, and a free-sprung split bimetallic compensated balance with cylindrical weights, timing screws and blued steel helical hairspring with diamond endstone. It also features a special middle temperature compensation balance, invented by Lund, which was probably fitted in the 1840’s. The chronometer movement is housed in its numbered brass bowl and held in its brass gimbal within the box.

The exhibition quality three-tier rosewood case is neatly bound in brass with reinforced corners and brass stringing. The lid has an inset brass cartouche engraved H. Thurburn Esq and a glazed observation panel to the inner section. The front of the middle tier has an unsigned mother-of-pearl name plaque, and the sides are fitted with concealed brass carrying handles. The interior is lined in green felt and arranged to house the chronometer bowl which is numbered 1555, within its brass gimbal ring.

Date: circa 1825-1830 Height: 8 in (20.5 cm) Width: 7 ¾ in (19.5 cm) Depth: 7 ¾ in (19.5 cm) *The firm of Barraud was founded by Paul Philip Barraud (1752–1820), a distinguished maker of chronometers who became Master of the Clockmakers’ Company in 1810-11. Associated with Arnold and Earnshaw, his marine chronometers were notable for their durability and dependability. His three sons followed him into the business, and the firm continued at 41 Cornhill as Barraud & Sons. In 1838 the chronometer-maker John Richard Lund was taken into partnership and the firm was subsequently styled Barraud & Lund, remaining in business until the early 20th century. A major part of the firm’s trade was the exportation of clocks and watches to China and India. Barraud chronometers were supplied to the Royal Navy and are represented in the collection of the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. Paul Philip Barraud is recorded on page 43 of Brian Loomes’s Watchmakers & Clockmakers of the World: Complete 21st Century Edition.

HW6713

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The present chronometer bears the inscription H. Thurburn Esq on a brass cartouche to the lid and can be identified with the instrument described by Hugh Thurburn in his paper ‘Notice of a Meteorological Journal kept at Alexandria’, published in The Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London, Volume 22, 1852, pp.

128–131. Hugh Thurburn was a member of the prominent Scottish Thurburn family, long established as merchants in Alexandria, Egypt, where his kinsman Robert Thurburn had served as British Consul. Between 1847 and 1849 Hugh Thurburn conducted three uninterrupted years of daily meteorological observations from a private observatory at his dwelling-house on the great square of Alexandria. In the absence of any public clocks in the city, he obtained precise solar time using a Dent dipleidoscope and transferred this to his Barraud chronometer, which served as the sole reliable time standard for the entire programme of observations. The results were communicated to the Royal Geographical Society in February 1852 by Captain the Hon. H. A. Murray, R.N., F.R.G.S., and the original manuscript journal is preserved in the archives of the Society.

53

WILLIAM DUTTON AND SONS, LONDON, NO 227 A fine George III period mahogany drop-dial fusee wall timepiece by these well-known makers and successors to Thomas Mudge.

The four pillar single fusee movement has thick plates measuring 6 ¼ by 5 inches which are secured via large screws through the bottom pillars onto a seatboard forming part of the internal structure of the case. The train terminates with an anchor escapement regulated by steel-rod lenticular bob pendulum with an effective length of approximately 15 inches. It incorporates a T-bar suspension, a calibrated rating nut and is stamped with the serial number 227 to the back of the bob.

The 14-inch circular silvered engraved brass dial has a Roman chapter ring and Arabic five minutes beyond the outer minute track. It is inscribed Will’m Dutton & Sons, London. It has pierced blued steel spade hands and the whole dial is set behind a generous hinged glazed concave cast brass bezel which is applied to the bold circular cushion-moulded wooden surround.

The elegant mahogany case has a drop-trunk with doors to each side behind the dial and a flame-figured panel set within an astragal moulded surround. It is flanked by ogeeshaped ears and the base section has an angled cavetto moulding over the ogee moulded hinged flap to the front.

Date: circa 1794 Height: 26 in (66 cm) Width: 17 ½ in (44.5 cm) Depth: 6 ¼ in (16 cm) * William Dutton is recorded on page 234 of Brian Loomes’ Watchmakers & Clockmakers of the World as being apprenticed to George Graham in 1738 and gaining his freedom of the Clockmakers’ Company in 1746. In around 1750 he went into partnership with Thomas Mudge, another former apprentice and successor to George Graham, and worked from 148 Fleet Street, London.

The business remained there through successive generations of the Dutton family. William Dutton was elevated to Liveryman in 1766 and alongside Mudge developed the lever escapement for watches in 1771.

Shortly after that Thomas Mudge retired to Plymouth in order to spend more time working on developing an accurate marine timekeeper. In around 1775 Dutton took both his sons (Thomas and Matthew) into the business forming a second partnership of William Dutton and Sons. William Dutton died in 1794 leaving the business to be continued by his sons Thomas and Matthew.

David Penney in Tobias Birch’s 2019 exhibition catalogue Thomas Mudge and William Dutton, a Perfect Partnership notes that the Mudge and Dutton dial clocks of ‘Phase II’ design were made between around 1780-1810 although relatively few surviving examples are known. From the serial number stamped on the pendulum of the present timepiece it can be dated to around 1794. Therefore it would have been one of the last timepieces produced by William Dutton and Sons before the death of William senior in November of the same year.

HW6575

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RICHARD COLE CORNHILL IPSWICH A fine and rare late George III period mahogany hour-striking wooden dial wall clock by this well-known Suffolk clockmaker.

The mahogany case is of beautiful colour and patination and features a finely turned mahogany head with a moulded surround, fitted with a hinged brass concave bezel enclosing the convex dial. Below, there is a short drop with carved earpieces to either side, leading to a rectangular base box with a flushfront opening door for pendulum access, centred by a small key escutcheon.

The original 14-inch painted wooden dial has a beautiful craquelure finish, with bold Roman hour numerals and an outer track for the minutes. It is signed by the maker Richd Cole, Cornhill, Ipswich. There are two winding apertures for the going and strike trains and the original spear-point hands are finely blued and elegantly pierced.

The substantial 8-day double fusee movement has an original anchor escapement, regulated by a pendulum with a lenticular brass bob. It has five knopped pillars and strikes the hours on a bell.

Date: circa 1800-1810 Height: 23 in (58.4 cm) Width: 17 in (43.2 cm) Depth: 7 in (17.75 cm) *Richard Cole is recorded as a provincial watch and clockmaker working in Ipswich, Suffolk, with Cornhill referring to the prominent central street and marketplace area of the town.

Period references place a Richard Cole trading as a watchmaker in Ipswich around 1800, consistent with the late-Georgian character of this fine clock.We recently handled an almost identical clock with a wooden dial. However, this clock has a twin fusee movement with hour strike, a very rare feature for a wall clock of this period and thus even more desirable for the collector.

HW6654

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FRANZ MARIA RANNAZ, WIEN An important late Biedermeier period year duration Viennese longcase regulator.

The elegant architectural flame mahogany and boxwood strung case is beautifully proportioned with glazing to the front and sides. The substantial moulding to the panelled base gives stability and the option of floor standing, as this clock can also be wall hanging. The front door lifts out creating a very neat appearance. Beneath the architectural pedimented hood are two volutes.

The two-piece dial with central engraving and large engine turned fire gilt bezel has Roman Chapters with an inner engine turned bezel and seconds dial beneath 12 o’clock. The dial is signed by the maker within a centre engraving, R M Rannaz, Wien.

The blued-steel pointers are delicately fretted, and the minute hand is counter balanced with a crescent shaped end. The year duration weight-driven movement is of three plate construction with a large great wheel and a long narrow barrel between the back plate and the front plate. The wheel work is exceptionally fine and there are in excess of 200 teeth in the great wheel.

Graham’s deadbeat escapement and maintaining power are included and there are end stops throughout the train. The pendulum with wood rod and large brass circular bob is suspended on the back board of the case and there is a beat adjustment at the bottom of the crutch.

Date: circa 1845 Height: 74 ½ in (190 cm) * The maker, Franz Maria Rannaz, is recorded as working in Vienna between 1841 and 1852.

This fine clock is illustrated on pages 278 and 279 of Die Wand und Bodenstanduhren der Habsburger Monarchie (The wall and longcase clocks of the Habsburg Monarchy) Provenance: The private collection of Anthony Woodburn.

SW03

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57

LOUIS OURRY, PARIS A fine French Louis XIV period tête de poupée bedchamber clock of rare small size by this highly respected Parisian maker.

The clock has a bombé-shaped tête de poupée case surmounted by a cast ormolu cockerel, set on a plinth above five turned finials on the gilt brass caddy top. The cockerel is a symbol of daybreak –‘un point du jour’. The oak carcase is veneered in tortoiseshell with brass Boulle marquetry inlay to the sides and the clock stands on a brass moulded base raised on four brass bun feet. This bedchamber clock known in French as a pendule d’alcove is much smaller and rarer in comparison to the larger more numerous pendules religieuses of the period.

The 3¾-by-5-inch brass dial has a silvered Roman chapter ring with an outer 60 minute band. The centre is decorated

with gilt engraved flowerhead and foliate scrollwork on a stippled ground. A subsidiary regulation dial is set in the arch (calibrated II–IX) with a blued steel indicator hand.

The lower edge of the dial is signed Louis Ourry Paris in flowing script. The clock retains its original finely faceted blued steel hands.

The 30-hour spring-driven movement has a balance wheel mounted vertically on the ogee shaped backplate. The clock strikes the hours on a bell via a count wheel also set on the backplate along with the externally mounted clicks and ratchet wheels for the twin-going barrels. The brass plates are united by four turned vase-shaped pillars, and the backplate is also signed in cursive script by the maker at the base.

Date: circa 1690 Height: 11 in (28 cm) Width: 5 in (12.7cm) Depth: 3 ⅞ in (9.8 cm) *Louis Ourry was an important French Huguenot clockmaker. He was born in Blois in 1643 and established his workshop on the Quai Pelletier in Paris in 1684. He made and bought and sold clocks there until his death in 1699. He was admitted as maître horloger in 1684 and is known to have collaborated with the celebrated ébéniste André-Charles Boulle. Ourry’s clocks are characterised by the refined decoration of their cases, their high-quality movements and often compact scale, as seen in this clock.

Louis Ourry had a number of important clients and contacts. Amongst the many visitors to his shop on the Quai le Pelletier near the Pont Notre-Dame was John Locke the English philosopher who came in 1677. Louis told the great man that he had “given off the way of makeing watches with very great balances in imitation of pendulums because, but several jogs in one’s pocket, they are apt some times to stand still.”

Following his death in 1699, Ourry’s widow maintained the workshop at the Quai des Orfèvres in Blois, where a 1700 inventory recorded several clocks in violation of sumptuary laws, underscoring the opulence and high value of their production. Today there are clocks signed Ourry in the Louvre, the Château de Versailles, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs and the British Museum.

A closely related tête de poupée clock by Ourry is illustrated in Antiquarian Horology (Vol. 39, No. 4, Dec 2018) in a fascinating article by Wauters & Schouten.

References: Tardy, Dictionnaire des Horlogers Français, pp.494-496 AHS Journal, Vol.39, N0.4 Dec 2018, pp.485-503 Louis Ourry (1643-1699). A Huguenot clockmaker in Paris and an early bedchamber clock from his workshop.

Erik Wauters and Chris Schouten HW6600

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WEBSTER & SON, CORNHILL, LONDON A fine early Victorian period rosewood 8-day hourstriking English four-glass mantel clock with beautifully engraved gilt dial and gong strike by this top London maker/retailer.

The case is veneered in richly figured rosewood and has a flat top with a rectangular glazed aperture, above a moulded cornice and a narrow dentil frieze. The front door is framed by a broad rosewood surround with mitred corners, enclosing the dial within a gilt sight edge. There are glazed side panels, and the stepped base has bold mouldings and stands on four brass bun feet. The clock is fitted with a substantial cast brass carrying handle to the top, with shaped foliate terminals.

1825. The Webster business itself was older, descending from William Webster of the Dial and Three Crowns, Change Alley, active 1727-1776.

Surviving work shows that Webster and Webster & Son were associated above all with high-grade watches and marine chronometers, though the Cornhill signature also appears on high quality domestic clocks.

HW6684

The square gilt brass dial is signed Webster & Son, Cornhill, London beneath XII. It has a circular Roman chapter ring with minute markers between, and the centre and corner areas are filled with engraved scrolling foliate ornament. The clock retains its Breguet-style blued steel hands.

The two-train movement sounds the hours on a coiled gong mounted to the backplate. It has a platform lever escapement, with regulation marked Fast and Slow. The backplate is signed by the maker, Webster & Son, Cornhill, London.

Date: circa 1840-1850 Height: 9 in (23 cm) handle down Width: 6 in (15.25 cm) Depth: 5 ½ in (14 cm) *Webster & Son, Cornhill, London, was the trading name and address of the Webster family firm.

Richard Webster is recorded by the British Museum as active from 1800 to 1849, at 43 Cornhill and 26 Change Alley, and as succeeded by his son Richard. The British Museum also records R Webster Junior & Co at 74 Cornhill from 1849, noting that father and son had previously been in partnership.

The firm was closely connected with the Clockmakers’ Company. Company records printed by Atkins and Overall show Richard Webster elected to the livery in 1810, later serving as Junior Warden in 1824 and Renter Warden in

59

MATTHEW & THOMAS DUTTON, LONDON A charming miniature lantern clock with chain-driven weight mechanism in a design unique to Thomas Mudge and the Dutton family.

This late 18th century clock is housed in a flat-fronted brass case with shaped top, engraved to the arch Mattw. & Thos. Dutton, London.

The 3 ½-by-5 ¼-inch brass dial has a finely matted centre with applied silvered chapter ring with Roman hour numerals and inside quarters. It is fitted with a pierced blued steel hand and has a central alarm disc with Arabic notations.

The 30-hour timepiece verge movement is weightdriven by twin chains: one for the going train and one for the alarm mechanism, and is regulated by a small pendulum with pear-shaped bob. One can access the movement via a sliding brass shutter to each side. The case retains its original brass hoop and chamfered spurs at the back for hanging the clock from a hook on the wall.

Date: circa 1790 Height: 5 ⅜ in (14 cm) Width: 3 ½ in (9 cm) Depth: 3 in (8 cm) * The Dutton brothers, sons of eminent maker William Dutton, continued the family’s reputation for precision horology from their Fleet Street workshop in the final decades of the 18th century. Matthew, his brother Thomas and his father William are mentioned on page 234 of Brian Loomes’ Watchmakers and Clockmakers of the World, Complete 21st Century Edition.

HW6008

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J. DESTE À PARIS A rare Louis XIV period miniature brass French lantern clock in wonderfully pristine condition. The maker’s signature J. Deste à Paris is engraved to the dial centre below the central alarm disc. The delicate chapter ring has arrow head half-hour markers, inside quarters and boldly engraved Roman hour numerals.

The Green Man or ‘foliate head’ mask highlighting the engraving with red wax at the top of the frets is distinctively French. The well-shaped steel hand is original as are the bell, the bell strap, the side doors and the alarm disc which is engraved with Arabic numerals.

The original crown wheel escapement has a turned short brass bob which swings at the back of the case off a silk suspension. The steel hoop and spurs also appear to be original. Both the going and the alarm trains have ropes pulled by matching ring-turned lead weights. The original alarm work is mounted inside the steel back plate.

Date: circa 1710 Height: 8 in (20.5 cm) excluding finial Height: 9 ½ in (23.5 cm) including finial * This clock is in a remarkably untouched state both in the delicate wheel trains and steelwork of the movement and the beautiful patinated bronze colour of the dial, frets and case.

References: Ton Bollen, Franse Lantaarn Klokken, pl.79 Brian Loomes, Lantern Clocks & Their Makers George White, English Lantern Clocks W.F.J. Hana, English Lantern Clocks, pp.47-48, pl.120, 126, 127 HWP

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CHARLES ORME, ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOUCH A very rare dated George II period brassmounted walnut angle barometer of ‘signpost’ form This exceptional early 18th century barometer is constructed in highly figured walnut, mounted with bold brass mouldings and detailed brass stringing and inlays throughout. The instrument takes the distinctive angular or ‘signpost’ form pioneered in the 1730s, with a projecting horizontal arm enclosing the full-length silvered register plate. It has red and black wax engraved numerals. It is surmounted by a manually adjustable sickle-shaped pointer.

The upright member is fitted with an acorn finial and terminating bulbous plinth, housing the squared cistern internally.

The plate is finely engraved Made by Charles Orme of Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire 1736.

Dated: 1736 Height: 37 in (94 cm) Width: 48 in (121.9 cm) Depth: 3 ¼ in (8.3 cm)

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* This is the earliest known dated example of Orme’s celebrated angle barometers.

A comparable instrument is preserved at Calke Abbey, but several further examples are now documented. This barometer was previously in the collection of Robert Belfitt, J.P. of Sheffield and illustrated in The Connoisseur (September 1916). It was subsequently sold in an anonymous sale at Sotheby’s, London, 19 July 1988, lot 260.

For further discussion of Orme’s angle barometers and their relation to mid-18th century brass-inlaid cabinetmaking, see: • N. Goodison, English Barometers 1680– 1860, Woodbridge, 1977, pp.192–196 • C. Gilbert & T. Murdoch, John Channon and Brass-Inlaid Furniture 1730–1760, 1993, lot 260 Sir Nicholas Goodison noted the significance of this model in tracing the evolution of barometric design in early Georgian England.

HW6286

HEATH & WING, LONDON A rare George III period mahogany and boxwood veneered stick barometer by these distinguished London instrument-makers; the thermometer with both Fahrenheit and Réaumur scales.

The case has a moulded break arch pediment in mahogany, framing the silvered register plate which is engraved with the weather indications as follows: If Rise Very Dry Set Fair FAIR Change RAIN More Rain Stormy If Fall FOUL

Fair 31 30 — 29 — 28 — 27

The long trunk is veneered in boxwood with dark mahogany edge mouldings and has an exposed alcohol temperature tube mounted centrally with brass clips. The makers’ signature, Heath and Wing, London, is engraved in a semicircular arc at the head of the trunk, above the thermometer which is calibrated in both Fahrenheit and Réaumur scales. The case terminates at the base with a boldly turned mahogany cistern cover with a brass finial.

The thermometer scale can be seen below.

Date: circa 1760–1770 Height: 36 ½ in (92.5 cm) *Thomas Heath was a distinguished mathematical and philosophical instrument-maker who traded at the sign of the Hercules & Globe in the Strand from around 1720. His advertisements show that he made globes, spheres, weather-glasses and mathematical instruments, often accompanied by books on how to use them. Around 1750 he formed a partnership with his former apprentice, Tycho Wing, who was also his son-in-law, and the firm traded as Heath & Wing until Wing’s death in 1776. Their premises near the Exeter Exchange on the Strand placed them at the centre of London’s scientific instrument-making trade. The partnership produced instruments of exceptional quality across a wide range including orreries, theodolites, barometers and micrometers. A fine large planetarium orrery by Heath & Wing, dated 1765, is held by All Souls College, Oxford, and is on loan at the Museum of the History of Science. Other instruments by the partnership are also in the collections of the Science Museum, London and the Smithsonian Institution, Washington.

Heath & Wing are recorded on page 131 of Gloria Clifton’s Directory of British Scientific Instrument Makers 1550–1851 (Zwemmer, in association with the National Maritime Museum, 1995).

FAHRENHEIT EXTREME HOT 82 - 104° SUL 72 - 82° HOT 64 - 72° WARM 56 - 64° TEMPE 48 - 56° COLD 40 - 48° FROST 30 - 40° HARD 24 - 30° EXTREME COLD 6 - 16°

DE RÉAUMUR EXTREME HOT TRY HOT AIR RATE AIR FROST FROST EXTREME COLD

30 - 40° 25 - 30° 20 - 25° 15 - 20° 10 - 15° 5 - 10° 0 - 5° -5 - 0° -15 - -5°

HW6581

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ABOUT My passion for antiquarian horology has never diminished even after devoting the past 39 years of my life to buying and selling English clocks, 32 years of which trading on London’s Kensington Church Street. I still have the same sense of hope and excitement about finding an undiscovered gem as on the first day when I set off on the road having left the classroom back in July 1987!

We are proud to handle some of the finest English clocks by the greatest English makers on the market today. Over recent years we have sold important clocks to museums both in the UK and around the world. In 2012 we sourced 25 clocks for the Dumfries House Trust in Scotland, whose patron is King Charles III. Thirteen years have now passed since we opened our gallery at Number 123 Kensington Church Street in 2013. In addition to our permanent display of the best 17th, 18th and 19th century English clocks and barometers for sale in a beautiful period room setting, we also give regular talks on different aspects of English Horology and are able to hold in-house exhibitions of special clocks.

For those clients and collectors further afield or unable to visit the gallery, please take the time to visit our website (walwynantiqueclocks.com) which we update regularly with recent acquisitions and where we can inform you of upcoming events.

Since 2002 I have been a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers and I have exhibited and served on the clock vetting committees at the major international art and antiques fairs in London and New York. I am also a member of all three major antiques trade associations: The BADA, CINOA and LAPADA. Our annual attendance at the prestigious Treasure House Fine Art and Antiques Fair in June and the LAPADA show in October allow us to meet new clients and keep in regular contact with old friends and collectors. With my linguistic background, I am also always happy to conduct business with our international clients in the major European languages.

Finally, we are keen to acquire the best antique English clocks and barometers and can be contacted any time for an appraisal or valuation.

Designed by Steve Hayes Printed and bound by Blackmore Ltd Photography by Peter Hunnisett – photopanache.com

HOWARD WALWYN

HOWARD WALWYN FINE ANTIQUE CLOCKS

FINE ANTIQUE CLOCKS

HOWARD WALWYN FINE ANTIQUE CLOCKS

123 Kensington Church Street, London W8 7LP +44 (0)20 7938 1100 | howard@howardwalwyn.com www.howardwalwyn.com

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Member of the British Antique Dealers’ Association

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