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Clocks · Carriage clock

Carriage Clock

DocumentedDocumented from the holding institution's catalogue record.
Maker / attribution
Johann Gottlieb Graupner (maker)
Date
c. 1725
Historical period
Early Modern Horology (1600 – 1750)
Country of origin
Germany
Place
Dresden
Object type
Carriage clock
Materials / technique
Silver, gilding, leather, velvet, and crystal
Dimensions
11.4 × 6.4 cm (4 1/2 × 2 1/2 in.)
Holding institution
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession / object no.
1914.622
Credit line
Presented by Mrs. T. B. Blackstone to The Antiquarian Society
Catalogue title (original)
Carriage Clock (English)

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Record summary

Held and catalogued by Art Institute of Chicago (object number 1914.622), this is a carriage clock by Johann Gottlieb Graupner, made in Dresden, Germany, dated c. 1725. The Atlas places it in the Early Modern Horology period (1600 – 1750) of its Clocks collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: Silver, gilding, leather, velvet, and crystal. Recorded dimensions: 11.4 × 6.4 cm (4 1/2 × 2 1/2 in.). The record is illustrated with 1 photograph.

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

The source record does not include a narrative description. The structured fields above are reproduced from it.

Historical context

Early Modern Horology (1600 – 1750)

Huygens' pendulum and balance spring transform accuracy; English makers develop the anchor and deadbeat escapements.

Huygens's pendulum (1656–57) improved clock accuracy from about a quarter of an hour to under a minute a day. The anchor escapement (c. 1670) and the long seconds pendulum created the longcase clock; London makers such as Fromanteel, Knibb, Tompion and Quare led European clockmaking, and French makers created the Boulle pendule.

Read the period in the timelineMore clocks from this periodEarlier: Renaissance 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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