Clocks · Longcase clock
Longcase clock by J. Smith & Sons, Clerkenwell, London, c. 1900
- Maker / attribution
- J. Smith & Sons (maker)
- Date
- c. 1900
- Historical period
- Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
- Country of origin
- England
- Place
- Clerkenwell, London
- Object type
- Longcase clock
- Materials / technique
- mahogany
- Dimensions
- Height 6 ft 11 in (211 cm)
- Stock no.
- Product 466
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, P A Oxley (product 466)
- Catalogue title (original)
- J.Smith & Sons of Clerkenwell, London (English)
View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction
Record summary
Catalogued by P A Oxley (dealer), Wiltshire (stock number Product 466), this is a longcase clock by J. Smith & Sons, made in Clerkenwell, London, England, dated c. 1900. The Atlas places it in the Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking period (1900 – 1945) of its Clocks collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: mahogany. Recorded dimensions: Height 6 ft 11 in (211 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
A high quality late Victorian Grandfather Clock with Regulator and Quarter Striking movement. The impressive and substantial 8 day duration Regulator movement features large thick plates, deadbeat escapement and maintaining power. Mounted to the rear of the movement two pin barrels control the quarter striking mechanism. A tune selection dial is situated in the arch of the dial which depicts Whittington and Westminster. The quarters are struck on eight chrome plated tubes hanging from a brass frame work which is supported by cast iron brackets. The hour is struck on a larger chrome plated tube positioned next to the movement. The pendulum is also of a larger than normal construction. The dial has a separate silvered brass chapter ring with applied brass Arabic numerals, seconds and two subsidiary dials to the arch controlling the strike/silent and tune selection. The dial is elaborately decorated with applied brass fretwork which is engraved to a high standard. The makers name of J. Smith & Sons, Clerkenwell, London is engraved on a small silvered brass cartouche above the number 6. Also with blued steel hands. The mahogany case has a single shaped plinth to the carved panelled base and canted corners. The trunk features quarter pillars with unusual capitals which depict lions feet to the base and acanthus leaves to the top. The substantial weights and pendulum can be viewed through the glazed panel door which also has a carved lion to the centre. The hood has solid wooden pillars with Corinthian capitals and an elaborate swan neck top. Also with sound frets to the sides and a carved lions head to the centre. The dial can be accessed through a glazed and lockable door. Note: J. Smith & Sons were one of the most successful clocksmakers based in Clerkenwell, London. The specialized in Turret Clocks and Skeleton Clocks but also made longcase clocks. They exhibited a year going calendar clock at the Great Exhibition in 1851. This is an interesting example as although large in stature its unusually much smaller in height than you would expect to see. Maker J.Smith & Sons of Clerkenwell, London
Historical context
Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
The wristwatch displaces the pocket watch; waterproof cases, self-winding and grand complications.
Between 1900 and 1945 clocks were electrified: master-clock systems ran factories and offices, synchronous mains clocks entered homes, and the Shortt free-pendulum clock set new standards of accuracy before the first quartz clocks (1927). Art Deco design reshaped mantel and table clocks.
Read the period in the timelineMore clocks from this periodEarlier: Industrial Revolution
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.
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