Clocks · Carriage clock
19th century engraved ormolu chronometer carriage clock timepiece by James McCabe
- Maker / attribution
- James McCabe (maker)
- Date
- c. 1840
- Historical period
- Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
- Country of origin
- Unrecorded in source
- Object type
- Carriage clock
- Materials / technique
- ormolu
- Dimensions
- Height 8 in (20 cm)
- Auction house
- Gardiner Houlgate (auction house), Corsham
- Lot
- Sale 42, lot 1167
- Credit line
- Auction lot record: lot 1167, Fine Clocks & Related Items, Gardiner Houlgate (22nd October 2026)
- Catalogue title (original)
- James McCabe, Royal Exchange - exceptional 19th century engraved ormolu chronometer carriage clock timepiece, no. 2268, circa 1840, the 2.5"circular silvered dial with Roman numerals enclosing an engr (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Gardiner Houlgate (auction house), Corsham (lot Sale 42, lot 1167), this is a carriage clock by James McCabe, dated c. 1840. The Atlas places it in the Precision & Scientific Horology period (1750 – 1850) of its Clocks collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: ormolu. Recorded dimensions: Height 8 in (20 cm). The record is illustrated with 4 photographs.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Lot description — Gardiner Houlgate
James McCabe, Royal Exchange - exceptional 19th century engraved ormolu chronometer carriage clock timepiece, no. 2268, circa 1840, the 2.5"circular silvered dial with Roman numerals enclosing an engraved centre, with fine blued steel trefoil hands, full gilt platform with engraved escape wheel bridge, diamond endstone, bi-metallic cut compensated balance with twelve timing screws, Earnshaw spring detent escapement with single chain fusee movement and maintaining power, the back plate signed James McCabe, Royal Exchange, London No. 2268, the impressive ornate cast glazed case engraved throughout with foliage and scrolls surmounted by a carrying handle and four berried finials, the sides each with a silvered foliate engraved panel, the hinged back door with an engraved foliate panel within a border, on shaped base and four bun feet, the underside edge of the back door stamped 'CLARKE', and again on the inner underside of the base plate, numbered 1264 to the underside base plate, 8" high with the handle raised (with key) PROVENANCE: Christie's, London, 2 July 2004, lot 128 https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-4318045?ldp_breadcrumb=back
Historical context
Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
Harrison solves longitude; Mudge invents the lever; Breguet's Paris workshop defines the modern watch.
The age of the deadbeat escapement, compensated pendulums and observatory regulators. Domestic clocks spread through the middle classes: English longcase and bracket clocks, French gilt-bronze mantel clocks, Viennese Biedermeier wall clocks, Black Forest painted-shield clocks, and the first American shelf clocks.
Read the period in the timelineMore clocks from this periodEarlier: Early Modern Horology
Atlas type guide
Carriage and travel clocks
The carriage clock is a portable spring clock with a balance-wheel escapement and a brass case with glass panels and a carrying handle. Abraham-Louis Breguet made early examples around 1800, and from the 1830s Paul Garnier and other French makers industrialised production, with the small towns of Saint-Nicolas-d'Aliermont and the Franche-Comté supplying movements for retailers worldwide.
Typical features include a platform escapement mounted horizontally on top of the movement (usually a lever, sometimes cylinder or Garnier's chaff-cutter), striking or repeating work, and alarms. English carriage clocks, generally larger and with fusees, were made by firms such as Frodsham and Dent. Travel clocks in folding leather cases became popular in the twentieth century.
What to look for
- A platform escapement visible through the top glass.
- Case styles: corniche, gorge, anglaise, obis or engraved cases.
- Repeat buttons on top and strike/silent levers.
- Stamps of movement makers (e.g. Drocourt, Jacot, Margaine, Richard & Co.) on the backplate.
Dating clues
- Early carriage clocks with Breguet or Garnier features: c. 1800–1850.
- Mass-produced French carriage clocks: c. 1850–1914.
- Folding travel clocks and alarm travel clocks: mostly 1920–1970.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
Read next:Detached lever escapement
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