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Oak wall clock by Evershed & Sons, Hove, Brighton, c. 1885

DocumentedDocumented from a dealer's listing; attribution and date as stated by the dealer.
Maker / attribution
Evershed & Sons (maker)
Date
c. 1885
Country of origin
England
Place
Hove, Brighton
Object type
Wall clock
Materials / technique
oak
Dimensions
Height 12 in (30 cm)
Stock no.
Product 197
Credit line
Dealer listing, P A Oxley (product 197)
Catalogue title (original)
Oak Antique Wall Clock by Evershed & Sons of Hove, Brighton (English)

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Record summary

Catalogued by P A Oxley (dealer), Wiltshire (stock number Product 197), this is a wall clock by Evershed & Sons, made in Hove, Brighton, England, dated c. 1885. The Atlas places it in the Industrial Revolution period (1850 – 1900) of its Clocks collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: oak. Recorded dimensions: Height 12 in (30 cm). The record is illustrated with 2 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 19th century antique oak wall clock. The 8 day duration single fusee movement with anchor escapement. The 12" round white dial with Roman numerals, blued steel hands, makers name and place of work listed as 121 Church Road, Hove. The well figured oak case with access doors to the bottom and the side of the case, the bottom door with a lock. The glazed access door with a flat bevelled glass and brass cast bezel with lock. Note: The 1871 Census records show that Arthur Evershed was born in Philidelphia, USA. Maker Evershed & Sons of Hove, Brighton

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

Regulators, wall and Vienna clocks

A regulator is a precision pendulum clock used as a time standard in observatories, workshops and railway offices. Typical features are a deadbeat or Graham escapement, a temperature-compensated pendulum (mercury jar, gridiron or later invar), maintaining power and a regulator dial that separates hours, minutes and seconds. George Graham's deadbeat escapement (c. 1715) and his mercury pendulum, together with Harrison's gridiron, set the pattern for two centuries.

Wall clocks span a much wider range: the elegant Viennese Laterndluhr and Dachluhr of the Biedermeier period, the Dutch stoelklok and staartklok, English 'dial' clocks used in schools, offices and railway stations, and mass-produced spring and weight wall clocks from Germany (Gustav Becker, Junghans, Kienzle) and America.

What to look for

  • Deadbeat escapement and compensated pendulum (gridiron rods, mercury jar or wood rod).
  • A regulator dial with a large central minute hand and separate hour and seconds dials.
  • Vienna regulators: glazed cases, slender pendulum, small weights, enamel two-piece dials.
  • German factory trademarks stamped on the backplate (e.g. Gustav Becker anchor and crown, Junghans star).

Dating clues

  • Graham-type deadbeat regulators: from c. 1720.
  • Viennese Laterndluhr: c. 1800–1850.
  • German factory 'Vienna-style' regulators: c. 1870–1930; Gustav Becker serial numbers allow close dating.

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 escapementGrasshopper escapement

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