![]() In Russellville, Kentucky, between 18, Colonel Thomas H. The dial is attached to this false frame. These clocks, with practically identical movements, have what is commonly called in the trade “false plates,” that is, a cast-iron skeleton frame or bracket which is fastened to the front, plate of the brass movement. On the edge of a smaller disc are the days of the month which show through a semi-circular slot located on the disc between, but below, the winding arbors. At the top is a cutout behind which revolves a disc showing the phases of the moon. The dials are sheet iron, painted or enameled, without the name of the maker. The eight-day brass movements are obviously English. My wife owns two tall clocks with cherry cases made by some unknown but skilled local cabinetmaker in Kentucky shortly after the Revolution. There are examples where neither are clear. So much for a tall clock where the identities of both clockmaker and cabinetmaker are known. It will be recalled that John Townsend was related by marriage to the Goddards, who are credited with creating the Rhode Island block-front interpretation of the style of Chippendale. The clock movement was made by William Tomlinson, of London, about 1750. John Townsend Clock Case Label: This is dated Newport, 1769. But if that date has been deciphered correctly, then here was a case made for an English movement in the Colonies nineteen years after the death of the clockmaker. The label reads: “Made by John Townsend” and beneath, written with a pen, is “Newport, Rhode Island, 1769.” The label is damaged and the figure 6 is blurred. He was the Master of The Worshipful Clockmakers’ Company of London in 1733 and is generally included in that galaxy of great clockmakers working during the first half of the 18th Century.Īs for the case, the block-front design gives a clue to its provenance and the printed label corroborates it. Tomlinson made clocks from 1699 until his death in 1750. On the elegantly engraved dial, in script, is William Tomlinson, London, executed with appropriate flourishes. ![]() The mahogany case is in the Chippendale manner with block-front variation. It is an early tall clock done in the best tradition. One is in the American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Consequently unless one knows the complete history of a tall clock and its case, it is difficult to determine the origin of the latter. Many of these cases are masterpieces of cabinetry, just as fine in workmanship and design as any made overseas during those years.īut although it was not unusual for the 18th-Century American cabinetmaker to put labels on his furniture, he was apt to show undue modesty with the clock cases he produced. ![]() Cabinetmakers in this country made them after the styles shown in the furniture books of Chippendale, Sheraton, and Hepplewhite. In fact, the shipment of a complete clock with tall case from England to the American Colonies previous to the Revolution was the exception to the rule.Ĭonsequently, today we have as collectibles English tall-clock movements in American-made cases. Letters, diaries, account books, and private papers of both English and colonial merchants and ship owners indicate that this was the common custom. The purchaser could have a suitable case turned out by his local cabinetmaker. ![]() It was much more practical to have the movement, dial, weights, and pendulum packed in a small box and sent over at reasonable freight costs. However, a clock complete with case was not only expensive to ship but unwieldy, especially in the small boats of the day.
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