Clocks · Longcase clock
Longcase clock by J. W. Morriss, Paddington, London, c. 1850
- Maker / attribution
- J. W. Morriss (maker)
- Date
- c. 1850
- Historical period
- Industrial Revolution (1850 – 1900)
- Country of origin
- England
- Place
- Paddington, London
- Object type
- Longcase clock
- Materials / technique
- mahogany
- Dimensions
- Height 6 ft 8 in (203 cm)
- Stock no.
- Product 73
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, P A Oxley (product 73)
- Catalogue title (original)
- J. W. Morriss - Paddington, London (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by P A Oxley (dealer), Wiltshire (stock number Product 73), this is a longcase clock by J. W. Morriss, made in Paddington, London, England, dated c. 1850. The Atlas places it in the Industrial Revolution period (1850 – 1900) of its Clocks collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: mahogany. Recorded dimensions: Height 6 ft 8 in (203 cm). The record is illustrated with 4 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 desirable Regulator style mid 19th century longcase clock of small proportions. The London made 8 day duration movement strikes the hours on a bell and has a recoil anchor escapement. The round painted dial features seconds, matching blued steel hands and is signed by the maker to the centre, J. W. Morriss, 42 Praed Street, Paddington. The movement also features a large brass pendulum bob to aid excellent timekeeping. The well proportioned mahogany veneered case has high quality flame veneers throughout the cabinet work especially to the trunk door and base panel. The trunk door is flanked by canted corners and the base has a single plinth. The hood is fitted with a flat glazed door and the dial is framed via a silvered brass sight ring. The hood terminates with a plain architectural top. Note: There is a John William Morris working in the London area during the middle part of the 19th century. Due to the simplicity of the case design and the Paddington address its quite possible that this clock may have originally been supplied to what was the new Paddington Station or perhaps a Public building of some sort in the surrounding area. Maker J. W. Morriss of Paddington, London
Historical context
Industrial Revolution (1850 – 1900)
American interchangeable-parts manufacture; railroad time standards; Swiss and German factory systems.
Factory production transformed the clock into an everyday object. American makers (Seth Thomas, Ansonia, Waterbury) and German factories (Junghans, Gustav Becker, Lenzkirch) sold millions of shelf, wall and alarm clocks worldwide; France produced standardised Paris movements and carriage clocks; electric time distribution began.
Read the period in the timelineMore clocks from this periodEarlier: Precision & Scientific 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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