Clocks · Lantern clock
Lantern clock by Matthew & Thomas Dutton, c. 1790
- Maker / attribution
- Matthew & Thomas Dutton (maker)
- Date
- c. 1790
- Historical period
- Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
- Country of origin
- Unrecorded in source
- Object type
- Lantern clock
- Dimensions
- Height 14 cm
- Stock no.
- Product 4333
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Howard Walwyn (product 4333)
- Catalogue title (original)
- MATTHEW & THOMAS DUTTON. A charming miniature lantern clock by these noted London clockmakers. (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Howard Walwyn Fine Antique Clocks (dealer), London (stock number Product 4333), this is a lantern clock by Matthew & Thomas Dutton, dated c. 1790. The Atlas places it in the Precision & Scientific Horology period (1750 – 1850) 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 charming miniature lantern clock with chain driven weight mechanism by these noted London clockmakers. This late 18th century clock is housed in a flat-fronted brass case with shaped top, engraved to the arch Mattw. & Thos. Dutton, London . The 3-inch brass dial has a finely matted centre with applied silvered chapter ring, Roman numerals and Arabic five minute markers. It is fitted with a pierced blued steel hand and has a central alarm disc with a corresponding pointer. The 30-hour timepiece movement is weight-driven by twin chains: one for the going train and one for the alarm mechanism, and is regulated by a small pendulum with pear-shaped bob. Date: circa 1790 Height: 5 ⅜ in (14 cm) Width: 3 ½ in (9 cm) Depth: 3 in (8 cm) * The Dutton brothers, sons of eminent maker William Dutton, continued the family’s reputation for precision horology from their Fleet Street workshop in the final decades of the 18 th century. Matthew, his brother Thomas and his father William are mentioned on page 234 of Brian Loomes’ Watchmakers and Clockmakers of the World, Complete 21 st Century Edition . HW6008
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
Lantern, chamber and Gothic clocks
Domestic weight-driven clocks were made in southern Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Flanders from the fifteenth century. These 'Gothic' or chamber clocks have an open iron frame with corner posts, a verge escapement controlled by a foliot or balance wheel, and often an alarm or hour striking on a bell mounted above.
In England the lantern clock appeared around 1600: a brass posted-frame clock with a bell on top under decorative frets, hung on a hook or set on a wall bracket. After about 1658 many were converted to pendulum control, so originality of the escapement is a key question for any surviving example.
What to look for
- Iron (continental) or brass (English) posted frames with turned corner pillars and finials.
- A single hour hand — minute hands are rare before the pendulum era.
- Evidence of conversion: plugged holes, replaced escapement wheels or later pendulums.
- Fret designs and engraving on the dial centre, which help date English lantern clocks.
Dating clues
- Continental Gothic chamber clocks: c. 1450–1650.
- English lantern clocks: c. 1600–1720, with provincial examples later.
- Short 'bob' pendulum conversions after 1658; long pendulums with anchor escapement after c. 1670.
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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