Clocks · Longcase clock
Longcase clock, c. 1978
- Maker / attribution
- Unrecorded in source
- Date
- c. 1978
- Historical period
- Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
- Country of origin
- Unrecorded in source
- Object type
- Longcase clock
- Materials / technique
- wood
- Dimensions
- height: 234 cm; width: 47 cm
- Holding institution
- Suomen kansallismuseo
- Accession / object no.
- H86033:21
- Credit line
- Suomen kansallismuseo (via Finna)
- Catalogue title (original)
- kaappikello (Finnish)
View the source record ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction
Record summary
Held and catalogued by Suomen kansallismuseo (object number H86033:21), this is a longcase clock, dated c. 1978. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Clocks collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: wood. Recorded dimensions: height: 234 cm; width: 47 cm. The record is illustrated with 1 photograph.
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
Description — Suomen kansallismuseo
fyysinen kuvaus: Kellotaulu pyöreä, peltiä, harmahtavaksi maalattu, numerot mustat, roomalaiset; osoittimet mustat, koristeelliset. Kaappi keskiosalta suorasivuinen, kapea ja korkea. Ylin osa leveämpi, sivuilta ja päältä ulospäin kaareva, ulkonevaan ylälistaan päättyvä. Jalusta matala, keskiosaa leveämpi. Kapea, korkea peiliovi, yläsivuilta kaareva. Heilurin kohdalla uusi, pyöreä lasi-ikkuna. Oven lukossa avain. Kotelo on tehty eriaikaisista osista: 1. koneisto uusi seinäkellon koneisto; 2. kellotaulu vanha; 3. kaappi vanha, alhaalta lyhennetty (luultavasti ollut madonsyömä), monin kohdin paikattu ja tummaksi petsattu, jalkalevy uusi; 4. maali uusi, vaalea, hieman ruskehtava. Muutokset on tehty luultavasti v. 1978.
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 An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.
Inscriptions & marks
merkintä: kirjoitettu tussikynällä; 1978 /Remont 15/4 1978/Håkan Åvall Snickeri/Liljendal; kellon takana
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
Related records
Clocks · late 20th century
Clock, 'Peter Rabbit', Queen's ware, transfer printing, Josiah Wedgwood and Sons, Barlaston, late 20th century (V&A WE.17466-2014)
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Clocks · late 20th century
Clock, 'Peter Rabbit', Queen's ware, transfer printing, Josiah Wedgwood and Sons, Barlaston, late 20th century (V&A WE.18029-2014)
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Clocks · late 20th century
Clock, 'Peter Rabbit', glazed earthenware, transfer printing, Josiah Wedgwood and Sons, Barlaston, late 20th century
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Clocks · c. 1960-1970s
Anonymous clock, c. 1960-1970s
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Clocks · 1960–1996
Electric clock by Efratom GmbH, Germany, 1960–1996
Science Museum Group, London
Clocks · c. 1960-1970s
Lecoultre Street Light Lamp, ref. 397, c. 1960-1970s
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Clocks · c. 1960-1970s
Universal Genève clock, ref. 999.116.01, c. 1960-1970s
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Clocks · 1964–1988
The clock from BBC children's television series 'Playschool', c 1977
Science Museum Group, London