Antique 18th Century Clocks
18th Century Clocks
While the most significant technical advance in clocks of the 18th century – the introduction of the pendulum – had been the achievement of the Dutchman, Huygens, it was the English clockmakers, led by Thomas Tompion, who in the remainder of the century took the greatest strides in the development of accurate timepieces.
The pre-eminence of English clockmakers continued into the 18th century, the early years of which were marked by the invention of the deadbeat escapement in 1715 by George Graham, followed by two important
methods of overcoming the problems of the adverse affect of changes of temperature on the pendulum (the gridiron pendulum by John Harrison in 1725 and the mercurial pendulum of George Graham in 1721); these
added to the advances being made towards producing precision timepieces. Accuracy of timekeeping was now of imperative importance both to the astronomers and to the seafaring nations. Supremacy at sea both for purposes of exploration and trade depended upon the ability of a clockmaker to produce an extremely accurate portable timekeeper which would enable the sailors to chart their longitudinal position accurately. Both French and English Governments were actively encouraging their craftsmen towards this goal at the beginning of the 18th century. However, although Le Roy and Berthoud of France produced some extremely accurate timepieces, John Harrison (1639-1776) must go down in history as the man responsible for conquering the problem.
The making of the cases now came under the care of the cabinetmakers and naturally reflected the current fashions in their respective countries. The English longcase styles changing from the early ebonized,
architectural examples with gilt mounts and twist or barley sugar columns to high domed tops (from .1705), broken arch (from 1760) made of oak veneered in walnut or other decorative woods to the pedimented tops
(from 1780) of the lacquered or marquetry cases of the next century. Mahogany only came into use in England in the latter half of the century.
The longcase clock did not achieve the same degree of popularity on the Continent that it enjoyed in England. The Dutch examples were the most similar, but their cases were more elaborate with bombe bases,
out-curving feet and hoods surmounted with carved figures. Marquetry was extremely popular. Colourful scenes with automata in the dial arch or musical mechanisms were more common. The French examples either emulated bracket clocks standing on matching pedestals or had trunks that curved outwards towards the base with an aperture through which an ornate pendulum was visible. Locally made cases would be simple, but those intended for the more sophisticated town dwellers would be elaborately decorated with exotic woods, veneering and ormulu, but became more classical in design towards the end of the century. Many of the movements, especially those originating from the Franche Comte district, were totally unlike those of the Dutch and English.
Spring-driven bracket clocks were also produced in abundance during this period and followed much the same changes in case and dial styles as the longcase clocks, as well as including many of the same technical innovations. In many instances they achieved an equally high standard of accuracy. English bracket clock cases tended to be relatively plain, although there were more elaborately cased clocks with ingenious
mechanisms. These were frequently intended for the Eastern market, as was the extraordinary collection made by James Cox of Shoe Lane, London. Unfortunately, due to local unrest these were never exported and
after being placed on display and a few charged to view them, they were disposed of in 1775 by lottery.
The Dutch cases also tended to be more elaborate, but for the most exotic and extravagantly decorated cases it is necessary to turn to the French clocks of the 18th century. During the reign of Louis XV (172374) there is little doubt that the clockmaker played a subservient role to that of the casemaker. The movements had to be adapted to fit the cases and not vice versa. Although there are exceptions (the work of makers such as Lulien Le Roy and Ferdinand Berthoud), the consequence was that movements of this period tended to be of a fairly standard pattern. The current Rococo style of furnishings was carried over to the clock cases and masterpieces, often signed by their makers, of boulle work, lacquer or intricate veneering embellished with fine ormulu appeared in abundance. Towards the end of the century many fine porcelain cases appeared.
During the reign of Louis XVI cases were still superb but there was a general return to more classical lines and themes and more emphasis on complicated movements.
One of the most attractive clocks to appear in this period was the lyre clock, a type of mantel clock. The dial occupies the lower circular space of the lyre, with the pendulum set above the clock appearing like the
strings. The framework of the lyre is usually of marble or bronze the latter decorated with enamel and diamante.
Another type of mantel clock popular in this period was the so-called `column’ clock, in which the dial was hung from a portico supported by two side supports which take the form of marble columns, caryatids or
bronze figures.
Dials were almost invariably of white enamel and were well designed. The dial painters Coteau and Dubuisson became famous at the end of Louis XVI’s reign for their beautiful floral work as well as for their zodiacal designs.
Among the styles that reappeared in Louis’ reign were the Religieuse, characterized by columns either side of a glass front, a break-arch top and the pendulum swinging below the dial and visible through the front ; the
Grand Style of Louis XIV also returned, particularly that of Boulle.
Clockmaking in Germany declined during the 18th century. Obviously, clocks continued to be made both of the spring-driven and weight-driven variety, but it was the wooden movements of the Black Forest area that
came to the fore at this time. These simple weight-driven clocks with a verge escapement and folios were made by the farmers during the winter months while outdoor work was impracticable. Tradition has it that the familiar cuckoo clock originated from this area and was first constructed by Franz Anton Ketterer about 1740, and by the end of the century these clocks were being exported throughout Europe. Slowly the anchor
escapement replaced the verge and first the escape wheel and the train wheels became of brass, but it was not until the end of the 19th century that wooden plates were finally dispensed with. A few bracket cuckoo
clocks were made towards the end of the century, with some examples including a fusee, but generally they retained their simple design and resulting low cost. Their manufacture, although now by factory methods, has continued to this day.
The earliest domestic clocks in the American colonies were those brought by the settlers themselves. Most of these clocks were of the lantern or similar type. There was probably little indigenous clockmaking until about 1700 although the first immigrant who claimed he was a watchmaker was William Davis of Boston who arrived in 1683. In reality, he was probably a watch repairer. By 1698 clock and watchmakers were working in
Pennsylvania although no signed examples of their work exist and they too were probably primarily repairers. By 1700 there were sufficient watches and clocks in the colonies to attract artisans from Europe.
The 18th and first half of the 19th century was the age of the handcrafted clock in America. Since the majority of the early craftsmen were from England, handcrafting was predominantly a variant of the English style.
Early domestic clocks were almost entirely tall clocks which came to be called grandfather clocks. A few table or bracket clocks were made in Boston and Philadephia. Wall and shelf clocks were introduced by the
Willards of Boston in 1775. The four Willard brothers, Benjamin, Simon, Ephraim and Aaron, were, for some 75 years, the most prominent and influential clockmakers in New England. The most famous of the four
brothers was Simon (b.1753). Little is known of his early apprenticeship except that he probably completed it under his brother Benjamin. Some clocks are known however that have case-lead pendulums with the
names John Morris and S. Willard, dated 1770 and 1771. Before 1783, when he settled in Roxbury, Simon was manufacturing tall clocks, thirty-hour wall timepieces and a few eight-day shelf clocks all inscribed ‘Simon
Willard, Grafton’. After 1783, he stopped making the thirty-hour clocks and by 1800 he had developed an eight-day brass clock in a wall-type case which became one of the best-known 18th Century antique clocks.
Tags: Accuracy, cabinetmakers, clock, clockmaker, clockmakers, Clocks, deadbeat, deadbeat escapement, England, English, Germany, longcase, mechanism, pendulum, precision timepieces, style, thomas tompion