Clocks · Longcase clock
Longcase clock with associations to George Graham by James Bullock, London, c. 1765
- Maker / attribution
- James Bullock (maker)
- Date
- c. 1765
- Historical period
- Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
- Country of origin
- England
- Place
- London
- Object type
- Longcase clock
- Dimensions
- Height 7 ft 4 in (224 cm)
- Stock no.
- Product 585
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, P A Oxley (product 585)
- Catalogue title (original)
- An Elegant longcase clock by James Bullock of London with associations to George Graham (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by P A Oxley (dealer), Wiltshire (stock number Product 585), this is a longcase clock by James Bullock, made in London, England, dated c. 1765. The Atlas places it in the Precision & Scientific Horology period (1750 – 1850) of its Clocks collection. Recorded dimensions: Height 7 ft 4 in (224 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
NEW ARRIVAL - September 2024 An interesting London longcase clock with associations to Holmes, Vulliamy, Mudge & Dutton. But also with a connection to the great George Graham. James Bullock appears to have worked in Graham’s workshop at some point in his career but also made clocks, watches and chronometers for the leading Clockmakers of the day. This particular longcase clock features an 8 day duration movement, strikes the hours on a bell, date aperture, seconds and a strike/silent feature to the arch. The elegant case design was used by several Clockmakers at this period but most notably by John Holmes. There are also similarities to the case as used by Mudge and Dutton. We would suggest that this is quite an important find by this mysterious yet highly skilled Clockmaker who is almost certainly responsible for making and supplying some of the most exceptional clocks of the period. Very few longcase clocks appear to exist by this maker. This clock is currently under restoration. The case has been sympathetically restored, the dial requires re-silvering and cleaning as required and the movement will be fully overhauled and serviced. Its currently on display at our Showrooms in Wiltshire and can be viewed by appointment.
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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