Clocks · Longcase clock
London longcase clock by Barber, Stratford, c. 1775
- Maker / attribution
- Barber (maker)
- Date
- c. 1775
- Historical period
- Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
- Country of origin
- England
- Place
- Stratford
- Object type
- Longcase clock
- Materials / technique
- mahogany
- Dimensions
- Height 8 ft 8 in (264 cm)
- Stock no.
- Product 77
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, P A Oxley (product 77)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Rare London Longcase clock by Barber of Stratford (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by P A Oxley (dealer), Wiltshire (stock number Product 77), this is a longcase clock by Barber, made in Stratford, 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. Recorded dimensions: Height 8 ft 8 in (264 cm). The record is illustrated with 6 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
An exceptionally rare 18th century longcase clock featuring quarter striking and moonphase to the arch. The large 5 pillar 8 day duration movement has an anchor escapement, it strikes the hours on the main bell and the quarters on a further eight bells. The brass dial has a separate silvered brass chapter ring enclosing a matted centre with seconds, blued steel hands of typical London design, 3 winding holes and the makers name and place of work. All surrounded with brass spandrels to the corners. The arch with scroll, foliage and flower engraving, a painted moonphase dial with a blue background and gold stars. Also with finely engraved silvered brass hemispheres showing nautical scene. The spectacular mahogany case has a long trunk door and is flanked by reeded and brass inlaid quarter pillars. The base has raised shaped panel and typical double shaped plinth. Both the trunk door and base panel have superb flame veneers of the highest quality. The hood with separate brass capped and brass inlaid angle pillars below a pagoda top with a shaped sound fret and surmounted with three brass finials and a centre cresting. Note: John Barber is listed as working in Stratford, London from 1770-1811. Longcase clocks were popular in London during this period but very few have the additional features of moonphase and quarter striking mechanisms. These features make this clock a very rare find indeed. Maker Barber of Stratford
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:Deadbeat escapementAnchor escapement
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