Clocks · Carriage clock
Carriage clock by Litherland Davies & C°, c. 1870
- Maker / attribution
- Litherland Davies & C°. (maker)
- Date
- c. 1870
- Historical period
- Industrial Revolution (1850 – 1900)
- Country of origin
- Unrecorded in source
- Object type
- Carriage clock
- Dimensions
- Height 14 cm
- Stock no.
- Product 4344
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Howard Walwyn (product 4344)
- Catalogue title (original)
- LITHERLAND DAVIES & C°., N°471. A superbly engraved grande-sonnerie carriage clock. (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Howard Walwyn Fine Antique Clocks (dealer), London (stock number Product 4344), this is a carriage clock by Litherland Davies & C°., dated c. 1870. The Atlas places it in the Industrial Revolution period (1850 – 1900) of its Clocks collection. Recorded dimensions: Height 14 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 superbly engraved, carriage clock striking grande-sonnerie on bells and with three subsidiary dials. The case is of classic gorge style with straight sided, 5 knop carrying handle, oval top glass and deep moulded foot. The engraving of leafy scrolls on a delicate matted ground is of the finest quality. The dial set within an engraved mask and written with double minutes circle, beautifully proportioned Roman numerals and signed as above, has blued steel moon hands. The subsidiary dials for day of the week, date and alarm are set below the main dial. The movement with cut compensated balance strikes the hours and quarters on two bells, the striking sequence being selected by the usual lever in the baseplate which offers Hours & Quarters, Silent or Quarters Only. The alarm also sounds on one of the bells. The backplate is signed as on the dial and numbered 471 in the lower left corner. Date : circa 1870 Height: 5 ½ in (14 cm) excluding handle Height: 6 ¾ in (17 cm) with handle up Width : 4 in (10.15 cm) Depth : 3 ½ in (9 cm) * Litherland Davies & Co , both watch and clockmakers, were at three addresses in Liverpool from 1816 to 1877 but had no premises in Paris. Like many well known British makers and retailers they ordered carriage clocks from the best French makers but ensured that only their name should appear on dial or movement. There seems little doubt that in this case the maker was Henri Jacot who in the standard work is referred to as “ being responsible for the production of superb carriage clocks.” JS01
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.
Read next:Detached lever escapement
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