Clocks · Carriage clock
Carriage clock by W. Johnson, Strand, London, c. 1835
- Maker / attribution
- W. Johnson (maker)
- Date
- c. 1835
- Historical period
- Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
- Country of origin
- England
- Place
- Strand, London
- Object type
- Carriage clock
- Dimensions
- Height 24 cm
- Stock no.
- Product 4486
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Howard Walwyn (product 4486)
- Catalogue title (original)
- W. Johnson. An exceptional William IV period English timepiece carriage clock. (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Howard Walwyn Fine Antique Clocks (dealer), London (stock number Product 4486), this is a carriage clock by W. Johnson, made in Strand, London, England, dated c. 1835. The Atlas places it in the Precision & Scientific Horology period (1750 – 1850) of its Clocks collection. Recorded dimensions: Height 24 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
Dealer description — Howard Walwyn
An exceptional William IV period English timepiece 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 4 cast brass bun feet. The 4-inch gilt brass dial is exquisitely engraved with flowers and foliage and has its original blued steel hands. It is also signed by the maker W. Johnson, Strand, London . The high-quality 8-day movement has turned pillars, substantial brass plates, and a chain fusee. The single winding arbor is mounted through the backplate which is signed by the maker W. Johnson, Strand, London and is wound through an aperture in the revolving brass shutter on the back door. Date: circa 1835 Height: 9 ½ in (24 cm) Width: 6 ¼ in (16 cm) including feet Depth: 5 ½ in (14 cm) including feet * William Johnson was a fine maker working in the pre- Victorian period. He is listed on page 425 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. HW6576
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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