Clocks · Carriage clock
Carriage clock by J. Pennington, London, c. 1850
- Maker / attribution
- J. Pennington (maker)
- Date
- c. 1850
- Historical period
- Industrial Revolution (1850 – 1900)
- Country of origin
- England
- Place
- London
- Object type
- Carriage clock
- Dimensions
- Height 22.5 cm
- Stock no.
- SKU 351
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Howard Walwyn (SKU 351)
- Catalogue title (original)
- J. PENNINGTON, ST MICHAEL’S ALLEY, CORNHILL. An exceptional English four-glass rosewood carriage clock (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Howard Walwyn Fine Antique Clocks (dealer), London (stock number SKU 351), this is a carriage clock by J. Pennington, made in London, England, dated c. 1850. The Atlas places it in the Industrial Revolution period (1850 – 1900) of its Clocks collection. Recorded dimensions: Height 22.5 cm. The record is illustrated with 5 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
An exceptional English striking carriage clock by this noted maker. The elegant four-glass case , veneered with richly patinated figured rosewood , has a facetted and foliate brass carrying handle and rosewood moulded feet. The 4-inch gilt brass dial is exquisitely engraved with flowers and foliage and has blued steel Breguet style hands The high-quality 8 day movement has turned pillars, substantial brass plates, chain fusees and maintaining power. The hours are struck on a coiled gong and the platform lever escapement is visible through the top bevelled glass with slow-fast adjustment. The two winding arbors are mounted through the backplate which is signed by the maker J. Pennington, St Michael’s Alley, Cornhill, London and is wound through two apertures in the revolving brass shutter on the back door. Height: 8 ⅞ in (22.5 cm) Width: 6 ¼ in (16 cm) including feet Depth: 5 ⅛ in (13 cm) including feet * J. Pennington was a fine maker working in the early Victorian period. He is listed on page 605 of Brian Loomes’s Watchmakers & Clockmakers of the World as being active in London in the mid-19 th century. English four-glass carriage clocks of this quality and originality are comparatively rare. HW5996
Historical context
Industrial Revolution (1850 – 1900)
American interchangeable-parts manufacture; railroad time standards; Swiss and German factory systems.
Factory production transformed the clock into an everyday object. American makers (Seth Thomas, Ansonia, Waterbury) and German factories (Junghans, Gustav Becker, Lenzkirch) sold millions of shelf, wall and alarm clocks worldwide; France produced standardised Paris movements and carriage clocks; electric time distribution began.
Read the period in the timelineMore clocks from this periodEarlier: Precision & Scientific 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.
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