Clocks · Longcase clock
Longcase clock by Moore, East Anglia, c. 1750
- Maker / attribution
- Moore (maker)
- Date
- c. 1750
- Historical period
- Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
- Country of origin
- United Kingdom
- Place
- East Anglia
- Object type
- Longcase clock
- Dimensions
- Height 237.5 cm
- Stock no.
- SKU 75
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Howard Walwyn (SKU 75)
- Catalogue title (original)
- MOORE, IPSWICH. A GOOD GEORGE II LONGCASE CLOCK BY ONE OF THE MOST EMINENT SUFFOLK CLOCKMAKERS. (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Howard Walwyn Fine Antique Clocks (dealer), London (stock number SKU 75), this is a longcase clock by Moore, made in East Anglia, United Kingdom, dated c. 1750. The Atlas places it in the Precision & Scientific Horology period (1750 – 1850) of its Clocks collection. Recorded dimensions: Height 237.5 cm. The record is illustrated with 5 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 — Howard Walwyn
A good George II longcase clock by one of the most eminent Suffolk clockmakers. The case is constructed primarily of oak and decorated with red and gilt chinoiserie decoration. The 12 inch arch brass dial is mounted with a silvered chapter ring, inset seconds ring and cherub and foliage spandrels. The centre is finely matted and has an aperture to view the day of the month above VI. The dial is signed on a silvered plaque ‘Moore, Ipswich’ within the matted centre. The high-quality, 8-day duration five pillar movement has hour strike via an internal rack. The clock is complete with its original lead weights and brass pendulum bob. Height: 93 ½ in (237.5 cm) Width: 19 ¾ in (50 cm) Depth: 9 ½ in (24 cm) * For a full history of Thomas Moore, one of East Anglia’s most illustrious clockmakers, see ‘Suffolk Clocks and Clockmakers’ by Haggar & Miller. Thomas was born in 1690 and died in 1762, being succeeded by his sons Edward and Hatley. The above authors suggest that the sons took over the business from about 1755. Signed / Inscribed Moore Ipswich
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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