A lovely ‘8-day’ duration mahogany mercury compensated pendulum regulator clock with round silvered dial from the mid 19th century.
The fine round brass silvered dial signed by a likely retailer F.Wiggins and Sons Minnories London like these special clocks commonly were. The movement numbered by by what looks like a Thwaites and Reed Number from the mid 19th century.
Lovely large quality movement with dead-beat escapement and maintaining power. The pendulum hanging from the backboard with beat adjustment.
The cabinet of good colour and patination. It is veneered in what looks like the rare ‘plumb-pudding’ mahogany wood, to give distint grain effect.
The dial with typical regulator layout. Case of good proportions.
A superb round brass silvered dial mahogany case domestic regulator grandfather clock. The ‘8 day’ duration movement by Gravell & Tolkien. This together with dead-beat escapement, maintaining power and wood rod pendulum. The makers were successors to Eardley Norton. A very special clock and of superb colour and patination. Tolkien is reportedly the great Grandfather of the author J.R.R. Tolkien (The Hobbit , Lord of the rings etc ) Finally I would say a lovely clock that would suit any home.
Outstanding ‘8 day’ duration regulator clock. Featuring flame veneered mahogany cabinet by Pryor of London. Also with round silvered brass dial. Typical regulator dial layout. Features like dead beat escapement to movement. Another being bolt and shutter maintaining power. Lastly stunning mahogany cabinet of London design. Clearly a lovely clock for the specialist collector.
A fine porcelain dial Vienna wall clock. The cabinet featuring finely veneered rosewood together with box wood stringing. Showing good colour and patination. The fine porcelain dial with ‘pie crust’ brass bezel. To sum up a lovely timepiece ‘8 day’ duration wall regulator.
Featuring a one weight, 2 spring quarter striking Viennese wall clock. Shown here with one piece signed porcelain dial. ‘2-day’ duration. Rosewood and box strung cabinet.
A good quality 2 piece porcelain dial wall regulator. Also with month duration movement. Featuring the finest burr yew wood veneers. To sum up a fine high quality precision clock.
Featured here a good 2 train walnut and ebonized German wall regulator. ‘8-day’ duration. Also with 2 piece porcelain dial. In addition striking hours/half hours on a gong.
The following piece ,’The Swing of the Pendulum’, is taken from April 2014 edition of Antique Collecting. It is based on John Andrews interview and discussions with myself Daniel Clements. Manager of Pendulum of Mayfair Ltd.
Figure 1. Superb and rare GIII, arched, brass dial, mahogany, ‘8-day’ London-style Longcase clock by John Grantham Newbury. Bat and ball automaton.
Interesting clock facts
It takes courage to come from a business in the provinces and open up in the West End of London. Especially when so many antiques concerns have been doing precisely the opposite. But this is what Pendulum did twenty years ago Taking Fred Perry’s shop and residence at 51, Maddox Street by buying the freehold. We then had control over the rent as one important cost element. This having been achieved as a deliberate long-term measure. The costs of converting the shop were a safe investment and Pendulum of Mayfair was launched.
Family Business
Many businesses in this field have come about as a result of what was a part-time hobby. A source of incidental income becoming so absorbing that the plunge to launching into full time was taken. Daniel Clements says that his father is a classic example. He used to say that he became a dealer in 1974 to pay for his vice of collecting. As a qualified mechanical engineer he was engaged in building factories. Designing new machines all over the world, acting as engineering director at Pilkington’s. But his love of clocks, playing with and restoring them, became a passion. This provided relaxation from the stresses of work. Eventually bringing about the decision to leave his job and set up as a dealer full time.
Nearly half a century old
When he did this 40 years ago it was considered to be a crazy thing to do. Like many who have entered the antiques business after years of dealing on the fringes of it. The impulse was too strong to resist. Even now, in his seventies, Mr Clements love of clocks is still as powerful as it was when he set up the business of Coppelia Antiques in Cheshire forty years ago. This passion has led to the establishment of a highly regarded business with a worldwide field of activity.
Figure 2. Superb ‘8-day’, c.1790, white-dial, moonphase, mahogany Longcase by collectable and well-regarded maker Bancroft Scarborough.
Finding special clocks
Throughout the 40 years since its start, Daniel Clements says the greatest pleasure the business has provided is in finding special antique clocks. Then restoring them as sympathetically as possible. Over the years they have developed the skills of lots of young people in their care. Trying to instill a love of old things and learning about their origins along the way. Touching old things, smelling them, and getting under ‘their skin’ is a long process and needs patience and understanding.
The workshop
The clock workshop is the hub of the entire operation and nothing is allowed to leave until Mr Clements is satisfied with the result. A familiar motto of the business is the saying ‘well bought, is half sold’. The special type of antique clocks Pendulum look for are so hard to find, selling them is the easiest part.
Figure 3. Lovely ‘8-day’, London, musical Longcase with mahogany cabinet, c.1770, Herring of London.
So many customers are now long term friends
Over the years many special pieces have come into their hands and customers have become friends.Examples of this provide instances of expertise combining with history to provide the customer with a truly remarkable acquisition. One particular clock sold to an Australian client was by the clockmaker Henry Lane. This was a superb musical Bristol Longcase clock from c.1790. Henry Lane, as it happens,was the first clockmaker in Australia. The story of how this comes about was a compelling one.
Transported to Australia
Henry was sentenced to death for forging money.This sentence was later changed by an act of clemency to transportation to Australia. He left Spithead on the Perseus with 112 other male prisoner son the 12th February 1802. This is what Clements feels is so special about antique clocks: they have a history and you can research more about the clockmaker’s life. They are a living working museum to the past and attractive pieces of furniture as well. How proud master clockmakers would feel if they could see their clocks still working perfectly in many homes today.
Figure 4. Fine c.1785 Peter Wood, painted-dial, mahogany, bell-top, double-fusee bracket clock with anchor escapement striking on bell and with repeat.
The Centre of London
With the Pendulum shop being situated right in the heart of London they have sold and restored clocks to many VIPs. Large companies like Asprey’s and Garrard’s, and major hotels like the Conaught. Recently they had the pleasure of restoring some really complex antique clocks for the Russian Embassy in London. Clements states that ‘the Ambassador and his assistants have shown us great kindness and consideration. We have lovely presents from them and also were delighted to attend their special day earlier this year. This was another of the fantastic memories we have built up over the years. The clocks were a challenge but they now look wonderful and are now fully functioning & proudly taking up their prestigious places at the Embassy. It was a real honour for us, and it shows how far we have come as a business over the years.’
Figure 5. Early 19th-century, double-fusee bracket clock by Hanson of London.
Great finds
Another entertaining example comes from their local specialist auction house in Chester. They had a lovely little clock for sale at auction about 20 years ago. There were four clocks in the sale,of which one was of great interest: it was catalogued as an ‘electric clock‘. When the hood was taken off the clock, the movement looked as though it was in a salmon tin, because it was enclosed. ‘We instantly knew what this clock was,and so, says Clements, my mother and father decided to split up in the room.My father said to my mother: you bid; if the other dealers see me bidding they will twig. My mother started bidding on the clock but she was very laid back. So much so that the auctioneer asked her are you bidding Ma’am? She said yes and the auctioneer slammed the hammer down.
Dust Encased Regulator
One dealer who was standing by my father noticed it was his wife bidding. He asked what the clock that she had just bought was. My father said, ‘oh, my wife collects electric clocks.’ Of course it was not an electric clock at all. The clock’s movement had been dust encased. It was a fantastic clock by John Holmes of London. The cartouche had been reversed on the dial and engraved electric clock. It clearly had been used as a ‘slave clock’ in the early 20th century, to drive other clocks around a factory.
‘Daniel Clements says ‘I wish these bargains happened more often but it is not the case. Everyone thinks they have a master piece under their pillow or in their garage. The guy who purchased this ‘electric’ clock was told the story. He laughed; luckily he did not mind paying a handsome profit at the time.
This clock will have appreciated many times in price since then though. Investing in antique clocks is just about as safe as houses. These master timekeepers come from an age where intrinsic labour costs are built in. Movements are handmade and built to exacting standards; they will continue telling the time in peoples’ homes for hundreds of years to come. Even throughout the recession, good genuine clocks have always appreciated in price.’
Figure 7. J & B Levi Dover, early (c.1795), mahogany, verge wall clock with silvered dial.
Hyman Russian Clock
‘I also remember when we purchased a lovely regulator clock with a painted dial. This clock was made for Catherine the Great of Russia. She was the most renowned and long ruling female leader of Russia. The clock came from the Winter Palace.It was brought out on a horse and cart just before the Russian Revolution at the start of the 20th century. I wish we had kept this clock, but then I wish we had kept many clocks we have sold over the years. We are in a business where we only buy what we love and we grow very attached to all our clocks. They are like extended branches of our family. Once you have restored the clocks, you feel part of them.Like selling puppies etc., the potential owners of our clocks, all get proper vetting! Luckily the people who love clocks are generally lovely people.’
Always Learning
Figure 8 . Mid-19th-century Austrian ‘2- day’ automaton and quarterstriking, large and impressive clock.
‘Every clock we buy and sell has its own story. You realize you are always learning new things; a lifetime is not nearly long enough. We can be proud of restoring and bringing back to life some lovely antique clocks. Yesterday’s craftsman’s work will live on at our shop in London, Pendulum of Mayfair Ltd. We stock some of the finest antique clocks anywhere in the UK. All these are fully restored and come with a year’s guarantee. All antique grandfather clocks are delivered free of charge anywhere in the UK. We have a full export shipping service to all four corners of the world. The USA is one of our biggest markets.’
At a time when there are so many stories of retrenchment in the antiques business it is a pleasure to find one of sturdy optimism.Pendulum of Mayfair at 51 MaddoxStreet, London W1S 2PH
I get asked many times about what I would choose if I was starting a collection of antique grandfather clocks. We feel privileged in helping many special customers and friends source their own private antique clock collections. The most important part if you are deciding to build your own antique clock collection is to purchase them somewhere you can get a guarantee they are genuine. I would also take you time in building up this collection, it can not be achieved overnight.
What type of clocks to collect?
I believe the greatest antique grandfather clocks were produced between C1680 and C1820. I am now going to suggest a possible date and styles that you could choose to form this collection. It is true you might prefer a particular style of antique clock and then you could just collect this style. There is nothing wrong in doing this. You may prefer just famous London makers from the 17th and early 18th centuries like Thomas Thompion or Edward East or George Graham. I have no problem in collectors heading down this route.
Broad spectrum of clocks
A route I will suggest here is a broad spectrum of special antique clocks from the entire range of the period suggested above. The collection could be increased still further from what is listed below by different dial shapes or antique clocks from different towns also showing distinctive case features.
Examples of Interest
1)
I think it is important to start your collection with a special early example of a London marquetry brass square dial grandfather clock by a reknowned but not necessary ultra famous maker. This clock will date from around C1690 and be a good ‘8-day’ example, usually with a lentical to the trunk door.
2)
I think next on the list would be a good ‘8-day’ or ‘month’ duration English burr walnut square brass dial grandfather clock, again by a good London clockmaker.
3)
I think it is then important to source a good arch or square brass dial early lacquer clock from C1715. This again will be a London area example.
4)
A burr-walnut arched brass dial caddy top London grandfather clock is also essential to any collection. These tend to date from C1715 to C1750.
5)
A good early arched or square brass dial provincial oak grandfather clock should form part of any collection. These dating from early to mid 18th century. These will be good ‘8-day’ examples with maybe an early ‘penny’ moon feature or automaton to the arch or dial centre.
The clocks do not have to cost the earth.
6)
An early oak or maybe pine 30 hour duration clock with brass square dial would be nice in any collection.
7)
Moving on to my favourite period in antique clocks from C1760 onwards. A good C1770 London mahogany arched brass dial is vital.
8
A superb London mahogany arch white dial ‘8-day’ grandfather clock.
9)/10)11)
Moon examples of 7 and 8 are also important to any collection, as is an automaton example.
12)
A good Manchester moonphase grandfather clock from around C1770
13)
A typical Liverpool moonphase grandfather clock from around C1770
14)
A typical Bristol tidal times moonphase mahogany grandfather clocks from around C1770
15)
A typical Hull pagoda top mahogany grandfather clock from around C1770/C1790
16)
A good Edinburgh grandfather clock from the end of the 18th century
17)
A good white dial Dundee or thereabouts mhaogany arch dial grandfather clock from C1790
18)
A good London with attached hood columns arched brass dial mahogany grandfather clock.
19)
A good London with attached hood columns square silvered brass dial mahogany grandfather clock.
20)
Various Precision Regulator examples with the differing means of pendulum compensation.
Conclusion
I have tried to form the basis of a wide ranging collection This could be a good tool for you to start building your own antique clock collection. Clearly there are some great clocks from other provincial towns around the country that I have not mentioned. You can also throw in some special provincial makers like Barber or Ogden or Deacon to the mix. I suppose a wide ranging collection should encompace as many differing cabinet styles from all the areas of the UK. These may also include one from the west coast of Scotland, or Ireland, even though I am not a big fan of the typical 18th century case styles from the these areas. This is just a personal taste though and one clock from each place as an example would not be out of place in any collection. I suppose this depends on space and finance though. I believe a minimum of 25 grandfather clocks would be required to be purchased to obtain a good overall wide ranging collection. This can then be bulked out if necessary be adding more towns or special collectible makers. Clock collecting can be quite addictive.
My last post was about my most special antique clock makers. I jumped to the support of a superb provincial clock maker at the expense of the hundreds of high quality London makers. In no way was I undermining the great London clockmakers though. We sell more London clocks than any others. I must say we all owe a great deal to the formation of the Clockmaker’s Company in London. The Clockmaker’s Company set standards high and as a result we have lots of special clocks. The UK and London became the centre of clock-making in the 18th century. It is something I am very proud of.
I do think there is a place though for the simple 30 hour clock produced in the provinces. London looked down on the simple 30 hour in the 18th century. No 30 hour grandfather clock examples I believe were produced here after the about C1700. They thought the same of oak cabinets. You will not see a genuine oak London longcase clock I believe, all these were veneered in walnut/marquetry or in figured mahogany, or decorated with chinese lacquer work.
Clockmakers Company
The Clockmaker’s Company kept standards in London high. Provincial 30 hour clocks though have a character of there own. In the 18th century you still had to be well off to own a grandfather clock. They were normally the most expensive item in the household.
lovely 30 hour dial
30 hours clocks can have a single hand or two hands to tell the time. Most examples do not have a second hand. For a 30 Hour clock to have a second hand it would need a extra wheel in its train or it would run backwards.
Original 18th century 30 hour oak or pine clocks that have not been altered or have not suffered from the dreaded rot or worm infestation are rare though, many have lost parts of their bases over the years or had their movements converted from 30 hour to ‘8-day’ examples. Both of these dramatically effects the value and I would not recommend purchasing one of these.
wilson 30 hour clock
If you own a cottage though there is nothing better than a simple oak ’30-hour’. You will find they will be very reliable and will fit in with the low ceilings in a cottage much better. Most collectible ’30-hour’ grandfather clocks will have either 10 or 11inch dials, this makes them smaller and slimmer than their standard ‘8-day’ equivalent.
Most of these clocks are wound with a rope or chain, since this rope or chain is on a continious loop, the clocks weight is always engaged when winding. This means that the clock will not stop or lose time during winding. This is effectively the same as ‘maintaining power’ on the fine regulator clocks. They will strike on the hour and it is the same weight that drives the time or going side and the striking side. This is partly why the clock will only last one day on a wind. If you put a clothes peg on the flywheel of the strike mechanism, a 30 hour clock would normally last for about 3 days before needing to be wound.
Conclusion
If you do decide to take the plunge and buy a collectible 30 hour after reading this. Make sure you buy from a recognised dealer. They will give you a money back guarantee that the clock is genuine. Remember to enjoy your search for your grandfather clock whether that be a simple 30 hour clock or a ‘8-day’ example.
As with all antique clocks you are only a custodian of them for future generations. They with live long beyond us if cared for properly.
