Clocks · Longcase clock
Longcase clock, 1948–2008
- Maker / attribution
- Unrecorded in source
- Date
- 1948–2008
- Historical period
- Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
- Country of origin
- Unrecorded in source
- Object type
- Longcase clock
- Materials / technique
- Trä Björk
- Dimensions
- Bredd 50 mm Djup 20 mm
- Holding institution
- Blekinge Museum
- Accession / object no.
- blm_item_24347
- Credit line
- Blekinge Museum
- Catalogue title (original)
- Golvur (Swedish)
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Record summary
Held and catalogued by Blekinge Museum (object number blm_item_24347), this is a longcase clock, dated 1948–2008. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Clocks collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: Trä Björk. Recorded dimensions: Bredd 50 mm Djup 20 mm. 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
Catalogue description from Blekinge Museum
Golvur av kontursågad björk. Pålimmad bottenplatta. Blåmålat med stämplad urtavla och datering "Anno 1849" Schablonerad hjärt och blommdekor i vitt, rött och grönt. Bilaga till samlingen: Ägarens berättelse om skåpet. Har tillhört Mona Clifford som fick dockskåpet i gåva av sina föräldrar 1948 eller 1949. Monas dotter Maria har lekt med dockskåpet och det har även hennes bröder gjort. Monas barnbarn Maja fick dockskåpet år 2006. Gåva 2008-02-26 av Mona Clifford, Lyckeby
Shown in the original language of the source catalogue. An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.
Historical context
Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
Seiko's Astron begins mass quartz timekeeping; traditional industries contract sharply.
Quartz movements and digital displays made accurate clocks cheap and ubiquitous after the early 1970s. LED and LCD clocks, clock radios and radio-controlled clocks appeared, while traditional mechanical clockmaking contracted sharply in Germany, France and Britain.
Read the period in the timelineMore clocks from this periodEarlier: Modern Mechanical 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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