Clocks · Longcase clock
London longcase clock by Allam & Clements, c. 1775
- Maker / attribution
- Allam & Clements (maker)
- Date
- c. 1775
- Historical period
- Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
- Country of origin
- England
- Object type
- Longcase clock
- Materials / technique
- mahogany
- Stock no.
- Product 583
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, P A Oxley (product 583)
- Catalogue title (original)
- An excellent London longcase clock by Allam & Clements (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by P A Oxley (dealer), Wiltshire (stock number Product 583), this is a longcase clock by Allam & Clements, made in England, dated c. 1775. The Atlas places it in the Precision & Scientific Horology period (1750 – 1850) of its Clocks collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: mahogany. 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 — P A Oxley
NEW ARRIVAL - UNDER RESTORATION A Classic London longcase clock by this well known and highly accomplished partnership. The movement is of 8 day duration and features a strike/silent feature to the arch, a finely matted centre and double screwed spandrels (as used by Mudge & Dutton). The typical London case from this late 18th century period is veneered with the finest flame mahogany veneers and is adorned with a pagoda top and three brass spire finials. Note: William Allam appears to have had some influences from other notable makers during the 18th century such as Graham, Mudge, Dutton & Holmes. The hands and spandrels are typical of work by Mudge & Dutton with the double screwed feature being used originally by the famous Clockmaker Thomas Tompion. Although a prolific maker of bracket clocks and watches, very few Longcase clocks are recorded by William Allam. Many of his clocks and watches are on display in Museums around the world. William Allam was Free of the Clockmakers Company in 1743 and worked in Fleet Street. Working alone at the beginning of his career he then joined in partnership with Clements in 1763 and worked until 1795. Please Note: This clock has only just arrived and is currently in our workshops being prepared for restoration. If you would like to purchase or view this clock it may be possible to bring this process forward. Please contact us for further details.
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
Longcase (tall-case or grandfather) clocks
The longcase clock was born from two seventeenth-century innovations: Christiaan Huygens's pendulum (1656–57) and the anchor escapement (c. 1670). A long seconds pendulum, nearly a metre long, swings with a small arc, and enclosing it together with the driving weights in a tall wooden case protected the mechanism and created a new piece of furniture. London makers such as Ahasuerus Fromanteel, Thomas Tompion and Joseph Knibb set the pattern.
By the eighteenth century longcase clocks were made throughout Britain, the Netherlands, Scandinavia (the Swedish Mora clock), France (the Comtoise from the Franche-Comté), Germany and colonial America. Eight-day movements with two weights became standard in better clocks; thirty-hour clocks with one weight and a rope or chain were cheaper alternatives.
What to look for
- Winding holes in the dial: two (eight-day, going and striking) or none (thirty-hour, pulled up by a chain).
- Brass dials with applied chapter rings (earlier) versus painted iron 'white' dials (after c. 1770 in Britain).
- Moon-phase arches, date apertures, seconds dials and maker's name on the dial.
- Case woods and style: ebonised, walnut marquetry, lacquer, oak or mahogany; regional styles from London, Lancashire, Scotland or America.
- Whether the movement and dial match the case — 'marriages' are common.
Dating clues
- Square brass dials suggest c. 1670–1720; arched brass dials c. 1715–1790.
- Painted (white) dials were made by Birmingham dial-makers from about 1772.
- Comtoise clocks with repoussé pendulums are mostly nineteenth century.
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:Anchor (recoil) escapementDeadbeat escapementAnchor escapement
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