Clocks, Watches, Music Boxes 2

The Italian ast ronomer, Galileo, discovered the important property of the pendulum, but its application to clockmaking was due to a Dutchman, Christiaan Huygens. By November 1658 Johannes Fromanteel, a clockmaker of Dutch origin who lived and worked in London, was advertising that he had for sale 'Clocks that go exact and keep equaller time than any now made without this Regulater'. This was a true statement, but through­out the eighteenth century improvements of one kind and another led to greater accuracy and reliability. The names of Tompion, Graham, Quare, and many others attained a well-deserved fame, and specimens of their workmanship are sought eagerly today. Extremely accurate time-keeping would make it possible for a ship to find its exact position at sea, and the government offered big rewards for this purpose. Harrison, Mudge and Arnold are the three most famous names in this connexion, and their pains­taking labours did much to ensure the supremacy of British shipping and the world-wide fame of British clock-making.

Verge escapement with 'bob' pendulum in use from about 1658.

The earliest clocks were almost certainly made by blacksmiths; they had heavy iron frames and they show few signs of the small-scale precision associated with the work of a true clockmaker. With the advent of the portable clock came the widespread use of brass, and the accuracy and neatness typical of such mechanisms. By the middle of the eighteenth century few households were with­out a clock of some type; usually a long-case or grandfather. The demand for these grew so great that the trade became divided into a number of specialists, each of whom made one or more parts. A country clockmaker ordered his requirements, assembled them and added his name on the front of the face. The majority of surviving clocks made in country towns and villages were put together in this manner, and only occasionally were they made entirely by the men whose names appear boldly on them.

The first clock cases were of gilt metal or brass, and the familiar type known as the lantern clock is a typical example. Wooden cases were introduced in the seventeenth century, mostly of oak veneered with ebony but later with walnut and other woods. Inlays of floral marquetry and later of satinwood and ebony stringings followed fashions that prevailed at the times of manufacture.

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Blacksmith Clocks

The earliest clocks were almost certainly made by blacksmiths; they had heavy iron frames and they show few signs of the small-scale precision associated with the work of a true clockmaker. With the advent of the portable clock came the widespread use of brass, and the accuracy and neatness typical of such mechanisms.