Clocks · Bracket clock
Bracket clock by John Taylor, London, c. 1790
- Maker / attribution
- John Taylor (maker)
- Date
- c. 1790
- Historical period
- Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
- Country of origin
- England
- Place
- London
- Object type
- Bracket clock
- Dimensions
- Height 48 cm
- Stock no.
- SKU 22
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Howard Walwyn (SKU 22)
- Catalogue title (original)
- JOHN TAYLOR. A RARE MUSICAL BRACKET CLOCK BY THIS EXCELLENT CLOCKMAKER (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Howard Walwyn Fine Antique Clocks (dealer), London (stock number SKU 22), this is a bracket clock by John Taylor, made in London, England, dated c. 1790. The Atlas places it in the Precision & Scientific Horology period (1750 – 1850) of its Clocks collection. Recorded dimensions: Height 48 cm. The record is illustrated with 2 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
Dealer description — Howard Walwyn
A rare musical bracket clock by this excellent clockmaker. The elegant mahogany case has an inverted bell top and retains its original ormolu mounts, finials and feet. The arched door is bound with a brass moulding, and there are beautifully cast brass sound frets to the front and sides. The whole case is of a rich, deeply patinated mahogany which contrasts well with the gilt mounts. The latter all retain their original gilding and are finished to the highest standard. The 8 Day triple fusee movement strikes the hours on a single bell, and plays one of two musical tunes on twelve bells. The arched dial has an engraved silvered brass centre, gilt foliate corner spandrels, concentric datework and the maker’s signature on an inset disc in the arch. The tune selection dial for “Dance” or “March” set within the arch along with chime/chime silent dial. The whole back plate is most beautifully engraved with flowers and foliage which is repeated on the pendulum bob and also in the arch of the dial itself. Height: 19 in (48 cm) Depth: 8 ½ in (22 cm) * John Taylor was a prolific maker who made a large number of fine clocks for both the English market and export. HW5210 Signed / Inscribed John Taylor LONDON
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
Bracket, table and spring-driven clocks
Spring-driven clocks freed timekeeping from the hanging weight. The coiled mainspring, documented from the fifteenth century, made portable table clocks possible; to even out its declining force, makers used the fusee, a conical pulley connected to the barrel by a gut line or chain. Renaissance table clocks from Augsburg and Nuremberg — drum-shaped, square or tower-shaped in gilt brass — were luxury scientific objects, often with astronomical dials and alarms.
After the pendulum, English makers developed the bracket clock: a wooden case with a carrying handle, a short pendulum with a verge escapement, and often repeating work to sound the hours on demand at night. Later examples use the anchor escapement. In the nineteenth century, 'table clock' became a broad term for spring clocks of every nationality.
What to look for
- A fusee in the movement (cone-shaped pulley) and the type of line — gut or chain.
- Verge escapement with a short bob pendulum, often with a decoratively engraved backplate.
- Repeat cords or buttons that make the clock strike again on demand.
- Gilt-brass engraved cases and horizontal dials on Renaissance pieces.
- Case shapes: inverted bell, bell top, break-arch, lancet or balloon.
Dating clues
- Drum and tower table clocks: c. 1520–1650.
- Ebony veneered English bracket clocks with verge escapements: c. 1670–1800.
- Engraved backplates were usual on English clocks until c. 1800, then generally plain.
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.
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